Waterford Today

A Michigan medical manufacturer is offering antibody test kits for COVID-19 as people return to work, Alliant Healthcare founder and CEO Bob Taylor said. 

Taylor told Jeffrey Mosher, host of the Michigan Business Network Podcast, that Alliant Healthcare, based in Grand Rapids, is now distributing these antibody test kits for purchase.

"Since the COVID outbreak, we've tried to do things that are both strategic and very helpful to trying to identify and treat some of the aspects of the virus," Taylor told Mosher during the podcast. "We have a new line of what they call PPE, which is personal protection equipment. We've got a brand-new face mask that shields around the mouth; we've been able to actually provide almost 2 million of those in just the last three or four weeks. And then also we introduced this antibody testing."

Alliant Healthcare is offering an antibody test kit, which seeks out the body's response to the coronavirus. The antibody test is looking for results proving that the body has built an immunity to it, which will prevent the body from letting the coronavirus back in. 

There is a second test kit on the market, which isn't offered by Alliant Healthcare. The PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test tries to identify if there is an "intruder" in your body, such as the coronavirus. 

"Our test kit looks for results, the changes in the body that have occurred because the virus has gotten in," Taylor said during the podcast. "And so our test can tell if the patient has recently had the virus, and then for a period of time, we can tell if there has been an antibody response to that virus."

The antibody tests can be done at home and results are provided in about 10 minutes. 

Alliant Healthcare has been reaching out to the state of Michigan to offer these test kits, and the kits are being purchased from all over the U.S. and even in Europe. 

"We've been able to increase the amount of test kits that are available. As time has gone on, we've got millions of these test kits available to sell throughout the U.S.," Taylor said on the radio show.

Alliant Healthcare is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). 

"The SDVOSB program is intended to honor business-owning veterans who incurred or aggravated disabilities in the line of duty by providing their firms with sole-source and set-aside contracting opportunities," Alliant Healthcare's website states. "Alliant’s team continues to focus on efficiency and developing standard repeatable processes and procedures that support the ability to quickly change and adapt to customer needs."