“The PCR test is really good to confirm a diagnosis…like say you have the sniffles and you did an antigen test and it was negative but you’re kind of suspecting it because everyone you were with at that dinner party all turned positive,” saidĮxperts said if you're trying to figure out if you've cleared the virus, look for an antigen test. While the PCR test has a longer turnaround time, but it has an higher accuracy rate. With at-home tests, a user’s method matters too and making a mistake can mean getting a false negative.” “The easy part about a rapid test is that it’s easier to do you’re doing it in the comfort of your home its instant like 15-30 minutes,” he added, “Right now, with the lines in PCR test you may get that result back in two days, sometimes three days, in which case you have to be careful to not go around and transmit virus and assume you are positive if you have symptoms. First, if you have covid-19 symptoms such as fatigue, fever, cough, or loss of smell and taste, an antigen test can quickly confirm the diagnosis. But experts say there are still times when a PCR test is useful. Meanwhile, rapid antigen tests have four advantages. But the PCR is going to detect the virus sooner, but people will have to wait for results. Experts say there are still times when a PCR test is useful At-home rapid tests for COVID-19 are more convenient. “Definitely three days or so, after exposure early on you’re not going not going to pick it up positive on the at home antigen test and the PCR test may be positive.”Ĭhin-Hong said both tests are good for picking up the virus when you have symptoms. “One way of thinking about when you might do a rapid test for sure if you have symptoms later on in the course of the disease,” Chin-Hong said. He also said the PCR tests are more sensitive than the antigen or rapid test. Antigen tests are rapid tests that usually produce results in 15-30 minutes.
Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.Ĭhin-Hong added that there are different reasons people get the different tests as they certainly get the test that is easily available to them. PCR tests are the gold standard for COVID-19 tests. Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news.
0 kommentar(er)
