![]() ![]() “Make sure you’re not just swabbing snot but you’re swabbing the cells in your nose. That’s why antigen tests generally recommend you blow your nose before swabbing. For example, when swabbing the nostril, scrape the inner lining of the nose rather than just the snot and boogers hanging about. Improving your sample collection for at-home tests will also improve your chances of getting an accurate result. “Test just before the visit if you’re going to check before seeing Grandma,” Chin-Hong said.Īnd, if you have COVID symptoms and test negative, “take precautions as if you have COVID and repeat the test every one to two days,” Swartzberg said. If you’re looking to test before a large event or before visiting someone who may be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, test right before the visit to get the most accurate read. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert and professor at UCSF. If you were exposed to someone with COVID-19, but are not experiencing symptoms, or your symptoms are mild, one rule of thumb is to test five days after the exposure, according to Dr. When (and how) should I use an antigen rapid test to get the most accurate result? PCR tests look for viral genetic material, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whereas antigen tests detect proteins on the surface of the virus. In general, rapid antigen tests are less sensitive and therefore less likely to detect an infection compared with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of the Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology division at UC Berkeley. “The FDA data suggests the antigen tests currently in use are as effective in detecting arcturus as they are with other subvariants of omicron,” said Dr. Yes! There is little evidence showing that at-home COVID-19 antigen tests work any differently with the newer strains of the virus, including XBB.1.16, also known as arcturus. Do at-home antigen tests work with the latest COVID-19 variant? The good news is that testing, along with vaccines and post-infection treatments, are still readily available, and infectious disease experts say these remain some of our best defenses against the spread of COVID-19. A message on the site says that ordering has “been suspended to preserve remaining supply.”Īs a new COVID-19 variant rapidly emerges, many are wondering how tools such as at-home testing will fare against the latest virus evolutions. Update, June 20: As of June 1, you can no longer order free COVID-19 tests from the federal government and USPS. ![]()
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