COVID at-home antigen tests

[Martina_MP]

For those in the US, just to let you know COVID antigen tests for use at home are commercially available. In the UK they are available for free. Now that it is known that even vaccinated people can carry and transmit virus, and cases and hospitalizations are rising again, I bought a bunch, thinking they could be used for visitors to my mother, other guests, caregivers, and us. I haven’t decided exactly when or how often to use them, but they are nice to have for peace of mind. They are around $20-24 for a kit of 2 tests. I have tried the QuickVue and the BinaxNow, and I like the Binax, which is a little more user-friendly. You can order them online (Walmart, CVS, Amazon etc).

The tests are not as good as PCR—not as sensitive for detecting infection, and there may be false positives. So if there is high suspicion for COVID and the test is negative, it should be repeated or followed up with PCR,and a positive test should be confirmed by PCR. But they are convenient. A test takes 15-20 minutes to do. It uses a nasal swab but doesn’t need to go deep.

[JA10]

Hi MartinaI am in the U.K. all high school children have been using the tests twice a week for a few months. My daughter is in school still and although there has been lots of cases, not one has been picked up by those tests. She has had friends who have tested negative using them, who have then got symptoms and gone for the proper test and tested positive, but still shown negative on the LF test. It could be user error, they were all shown the correct way to use them, but the ones we have are very uncomfortable on the nose and throat.

Personally although I do use one occasionally, I don't actually believe they work, I wouldn't spend money on one or rely on the results. I know that doesn't help when you are trying to keep a PSP warrior alive and well, but if my Mum was still with us, I would trust more in washed hands, face masks and space / ventilation.

Julie

[Martina_MP in reply to JA10]

Thanks for sharing your experience! Apparently there are lots of accounts of problems with the Innova tests which are widely distributed in the UK. The US FDA specifically recalled them here and they are not supposed to be used in the US. How frustrating that they have been so unreliable! Time will tell whether other ones are actually better or not. I hope there are improvements, especially when so many people — entire systems — are relying on them.