How Long Could You Be Waiting In Line At Sparrow Drive-Thru Services?

First off, don't shoot the messenger.

And please be patient and kind to all our health care professionals and workers no matter where you go. They are stretched to the max by providing us with the best healthcare they can.

This article is to highlight how long the lines are, the uptick in demand for testing, urging you to get tested at different facilities, and so on.

It is in no way meant to sit in judgment of them or the job that they are doing. For that, we are truly thankful.

Get our free mobile app

I go by the Sparrow Drive-Thru Services facility in Frandor almost daily. There hasn't been a day (recently) that I haven't seen the line wrapped around the building. My father visited me on New Year's Day and we happened to have drove by and it was packed.

I have been in that line before but that was early on in the pandemic. For the record, I am fully vaccinated and have had my booster shot. My wait in line was never more than an hour. I would dare say each of the few times I have had to be in it, I was there for less than 30 minutes.

But that was then.

The reality now is staggering.

Wednesday, Lansing Urgent Care’s website showed people had to wait several hours at all of its locations.

The one at Frandor was the busiest, with the wait more than 13 hours at one point.

Down the street at the Sparrow testing site, they are set new records with more than 1100 people getting a COVID test Tuesday. (WILX)

13 hours (Lansing Urgent Care Frandor). 1100 people in one day (Sparrow Drive-Thru Testing).

Why the long lines and the wait?

The new Omicron strain of the virus for starters.

People can't find home testing kits in stores. If and when they do, the prices have been jacked up.

As the lines at testing sites get even longer, the price of at-home tests is going up.

The agreement Walmart and Kroger had with the federal government to keep the price of testing kits low ended last month. Both have since raised the price. (WILX)

Here's another one for you. The home testing kits might give you peace of mind, but those results might not necessarily get you into a venue or a place that requires a negative covid test for entry.

If customers decide to show a test, the test must be a PCR or a medically-administered rapid test stamped no more than 72 hours before the event.

Home tests will not be accepted. The policy applies to all events on campus, including sports.

Read More: Headed to Wharton Center at MSU in 2022? Bring This With You

Are people panicking and overtesting?

In a word straight from the mouths of the experts? Yes.

Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail said some people might make things worse by testing too much.

“If you are testing just because ‘I was exposed, I was exposed, somebody told me I was exposed,’ and you’re just testing over and over again, that’s not necessarily the best place for a rapid test, that’s probably not the best use of a PCR test, especially in a shortage time,” Vail said.

Vail said if people also go to different testing sites, that could ease the lines. (WILX)

Speaking of different testing sites, here's a quick list for you courtesy of our broadcast partners at WILX.

Ingham

No appointment required

• McLaren Greater Lansing South Side Medical Center | 517-913-3888 | 5525 S Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Lansing
• Lansing Urgent Care - Southside | 517-999-2273 | 320 E. Jolly Road, Lansing
• Sparrow Laboratory | 800-SPARROW | 3131 E. Michigan Ave, Lansing
• Lansing Urgent Care - Frandor | 517-999-2273 | 505 N. Clippert Street, Lansing
• Lansing Urgent Care - Okemos | 517-999-2273 | 2289 W. Grand River, Okemos

Appointment only

• Lansing VA Clinic | 517-267-3925 | 5656 South Cedar Street, Lansing
• Rite Aid Pharmacy | 517-694-2179 | 2263 Cedar Street, Holt
• CVS Pharmacy | 517-272-5424 | 5117 S Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Lansing
• Walgreens | 517-393-5784 | 3404 S Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Lansing
• Ingham Community Health Centers | 517-887-4517 | 2316 S Cedar Street, Lansing
• YesNo Covid at Lansing | 517-247-3850 | 507 S Grand Ave, Lansing

Jackson

No appointment required

• Jackson Urgent Care | 517-395-2246 | 1325 North West Ave, Jackson

Appointment only

• Walgreens | 517-783-1803 | 1314 North West Ave, Jackson
• Center For Family Health | 517-748-5500 | 505 North Jackson Street, First Floor, Jackson
• Rite Aid Pharmacy | 517-782-9382 | 3100 E Michigan Ave, Jackson
• Jackson VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic | 517-764-3609 | 4328 Page Ave, Michigan Center

Eaton

No appointment required

• BEHD Charlotte Health Department Office | 866-809-8282 | 1033 Health Care Dr., Charlotte
• BEHD Hastings Health Department Office | 517-541-2605 | 330 W Woodlawn Ave, Hastings