St. Luke’s Health System will begin offering asymptomatic COVID-19 testing for certain groups starting later this week. Asymptomatic nasopharyngeal swab testing will be available through St. Luke’s locations in Baker City, Boise, Fruitland, Jerome, Ketchum, McCall, Meridian, Mountain Home, Nampa and Twin Falls.
People who can make an appointment starting April 8 include those with:
- A known exposure to someone with coronavirus at school or work
- Exposures identified in high-density or communal living
- Other close-contact exposures meeting CDC recommendations for testing
- Pre- and post-travel testing needs
Asymptomatic testing appointments can be scheduled through myChart accounts for one of the designated clinic locations. People can also call St. Luke’s COVID-19 hotline for instructions or assistance at (208) 381-9500. Anyone seeking a test must have an appointment, as St. Luke’s is unable to accept walk-ins. Asymptomatic testing results will be returned to patients via myChart.
St. Luke’s will also pilot a saliva-test workflow with employers who have existing agreements with its occupational health team to test workers following exposures within their facilities.
Vaccine For Minors
The Pfizer vaccine is now available to all Idahoans, including those 16 and 17 years old, and there is important information families should know when scheduling an appointment.
Minors cannot consent for a COVID vaccine. They must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian to provide consent at the time of the appointment. Written or verbal consent will need to be provided by a parent or legal guardian, if not present at the time of the appointment.
Minors also cannot schedule their own appointments in myChart. Parents or legal guardians with teen proxy access can schedule an appointment for the minor. To get teen proxy access, the teen will need to grant teen proxy access to their parent or legal guardian through their own myChart account.
Parents can schedule an appointment for their child without proxy access by calling (208) 381-9500. Minors can schedule their own vaccine appointment by calling that same number, but they must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian to provide consent at the time of the appointment or provide written or verbal consent of a parent or legal guardian, if not present at the time of the appointment.
