The following essay is available for re-publication in The Conversation.
As winter begins and the holidays are in full swing, the COVID-19 Pandemic has entered another worrying phase. Many people are unsure about their holiday plans because of the emergence of the omicron variant and increasing rates of infections.
President Joe Biden made at- home COVID-19 rapid tests eligible for reimbursement by private insurance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Testing is one of the most effective ways to track and reduce the transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19.
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Many people still have questions about the difference between the two tests, even though COVID-19 testing has become part of most people's everyday conversation.
I work at the Chan Medical School. The National Institute of Health funded a program called RADx Tech to help companies develop rapid tests to detect when a person is HIV positive.
How rapid tests work.
A portion of the SARS-CoV-2 can be detected with rapid antigen tests. You must take a sample from your nose or mouth. You mix the sample with the liquid. You apply the liquid to the test strip that is painted with the antibodies specific for the disease. Antibodies are Y-shaped proteins that bind to foreign substances. A colored line appears on the test strip if the antibodies bind to the virus.
These tests are easy to use and provide results quickly. The cost of a test is around US$10-$15. The cost of a test like a PCR is usually more than $100, but there are many ways to get it for free.
50 million free tests will be given to community health care providers for people without insurance, according to President Biden. When free rapid tests become available, people should check their local media outlets. Families with school-age children can get free rapid tests in Colorado. 100,000 people signed up for free COVID tests in New Hampshire in less than 24 hours.
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The Food and Drug Administration has authorized about a dozen rapid antigen tests for the disease, which means these tests meet certain standards for performance and accuracy.
When to use rapid tests.
If you have any symptoms of COVID-19, regardless of whether you have been vaccined, you should get tested immediately.
Even if you don't have symptoms, the disease can spread very easily. If you can isolated yourself, you can prevent transmission to others. New drugs like those from Pfizer and Merck are the most effective if given early in the course of an infectious disease.
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If you get a negative test but still feel unwell, it's possible that you got a false test. Contact your health care provider if you have any symptoms. If you get a positive test, you should immediately contact your health care provider.
If you don't have symptoms but have had close contact with someone with COVID-19, what to do depends on your vaccine status. The CDC recommends that you wait five to seven days after your exposure to get a rapid antigen test. If you aren't fully protected, get tested immediately. If you don't develop symptoms after exposure, you should still get retested.
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It takes several days for the respiratory viruses to build up in your body. A rapid test may not be able to detect your infection because the amount of viral protein is low. It is recommended for many tests to be done over multiple days with at least 24 hours between each test. When the highest amount of virus is in the respiratory tract, rapid antigen tests are most accurate.
Studies have shown that serial testing is comparable to a single test. A test is only a snapshot of your status at the time of the test. It is possible to test for a negative during the early stages of an illness.
The future of at- home COVID-19 testing.
There is still more to know about the best way to use rapid tests. Several studies are being conducted to fill the gaps.
One question we are studying is how people use home tests when their risk is low. Someone who does not eat out at restaurants and wears a mask indoors is considered low risk, while someone who is not vaccine-free and gathers with many people without masks is considered high risk. We want to know if people will follow a testing regimen when exposed, and if they will share their home test results with their local department of public health.
The team is studying how the tests compare when it comes to detecting COVID-19 in people who are positive but have no symptoms. The Test Us at Home study is generating important data that will help us answer the question in the next few months.
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The fight against the COVID-19 pandemic can be aided by rapid antigen tests. These actions can be used in conjunction with other tools to help limit the spread of the disease during the holiday season.
The Conversation published this article. The original article can be found here.
