The first way is through repeat testing, the kind I did. What I didn’t realize-and what your everyday CVS shopper won’t either-is that there are two ways that less-than-perfect specificity can get amplified into a bigger problem. For the home tests I tried, that figure is about 98%, with a corresponding 2% rate of false positives. The tricky part of unrestricted testing, I learned, comes instead from the concept of “specificity,” or the rate at which a test correctly identifies negatives. But if the alternative is no test at all, then none of those infections would be caught. That is, they catch about nine of every 10 infections, a metric called the test’s “sensitivity.” Some people have said that any missed cases are a worry, since a person with a false negative could go out and infect someone else. For more information on this free testing site and which test may be the best choice for you, visit /Testing and click on #1 on the testing map.The issue with home tests is accuracy, which is between 85% and 95% for detecting covid. We do not know how much protection (immunity) antibodies to the virus might provide against getting infected again, so you should continue to take steps to protect yourself and others.īoth molecular (PCR) and rapid antigen tests are now being administered at the Orange County Government Health Services testing site. Whether you test positive or negative for COVID-19 on a viral or an antibody test, you still should take steps to protect yourself and others. It can take days to several weeks to develop enough antibodies to be detected in a test. Locally, OneBlood is testing all blood donations for the COVID-19 antibodies.Īntibody tests can provide quick results but should not be used to diagnose someone with an active infection. These tests generally produce results in a few minutes based on a drop of blood taken from the finger some tests may take 1-3 days if blood is drawn for testing. ![]() Prior to an outpatient procedure, hospitals may conduct a rapid test first and confirm that rapid test with a PCR test to ensure accuracy.ĪNTIBODY TESTS (AKA Serology Test or Blood Test)Īntibody tests check your blood by looking for antibodies, which can tell you if you had a past infection with the virus that causes COVID-19, regardless of whether you ever showed symptoms.If your antigen test shows a negative result but you have symptoms of COVID-19 and/or have been at-risk for exposure to COVID-19, you should receive a PCR test to ensure accuracy.Antigen tests are more likely to miss an active COVID-19 infection compared to molecular tests. Negative results may need to be confirmed with a molecular test. ![]() Positive results are usually highly accurate, but false positives can happen. Because of this, antigen tests are in high public demand.Īntigen tests are intended for use on symptomatic persons within the first 5-12 days of symptom onset. Results may be returned very quickly (15-30 minutes), depending on the test. Most antigen tests use a nasal or nasopharyngeal swab.
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