Can you rely on COVID tests at home? We asked the doctors when they would use them
Boxes of BinaxNow home COVID-19 tests made by Abbott and QuickVue home tests made by Quidel go on sale Monday, November 15, 2021 at a CVS store in Lakewood, Washington, south of Seattle. After weeks of shortages, retailers like CVS say they now have ample supplies of fast-paced COVID-19 test kits, but experts are preparing to see if that will be enough when Americans gather for Thanksgiving and new eruptions light up in the north and western states. (AP Photo / Ted S. Warren)
(NEXSTAR) – While holiday travel starts in high gear, many rely on COVID test kits at home to help them know if it’s safe to hang out with friends and family. But after two million of them were recalled due to accuracy issues, you may be wondering if the home route is reliable.
First of all, the accuracy of the test depends on your ability to follow the instructions, says Dr. Jaquelin Dudley at the University of Texas. Most of the tests come with very specific step-by-step instructions – and you should follow them. Make sure you stroke both nostrils at the appropriate time and wait 15 minutes to see the results.
When used properly home antigen testing captures about 85% of COVID cases, reports the New York Times. They are better at detecting COVID cases when someone is symptomatic (and therefore has a higher viral load) than someone who is asymptomatic and has a lower viral load.
The sensitivity to COVID-19 presence will not be as high as a PCR test sent to a laboratory, but it may be okay for your purposes. Dr. Bob Wachter, president of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, says he’s a fan of the quick tests you can find at your local pharmacy, such as BinaxNOW.
“The situation they excel in is one that often occurs on holidays: you want to know if a person not only has COVID, but is actively contagious.” explains Dr. Bob Wachter, “A positive test is very good proof that the person is contagious; a negative test is quite reassuring that they are not.
“This is the test I want to use in that situation – the PCR just takes too long (often days) and is actually more sensitive than you need. It can detect viruses at a level so low that the person does not is contagious. “
Another thing to keep in mind is that a test result – whether it is from an antigen test or a PCR test – is just a snapshot in time. It only shows a positive result if the virus is detectable in your system at the moment the sample was taken. This means that you need to use quick tests regularly to make sure you are not infected and / or contagious.
“If I met eight fully vaccinated and (if applicable) boosted people and I trusted any of them would bend over if they had symptoms, I would not use [a rapid test], ”Says Wachter, as the risk of asymptomatic COVID-19 transmission between fully vaccinated individuals is very low.
“But if one of the people was not vaccinated, I would insist that he or she did a quick test that day and could only come in if it was negative,” he continues. “I might want to do the same if someone was vaccinated more than six months ago and had not yet been boosted. And I would definitely have someone with a runny nose or potential COVID symptoms before they were locked into the assembly. “
Dudley, on the other hand, still prefers to get a PCR test where possible. If you are addicted to quick tests, she suggests that you do your research on the manufacturer to make sure it is a reputable brand.
“The user should look for information on how the test has been verified. If you can not tell, ask the pharmacist to help you choose the test,” says Dudley.
If you feel sick, Dudley suggests following any kind of quick test with a PCR test to confirm the results. In the meantime, you should also stay away from others and contact your doctor.
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