CHUNCHEON, SOUTH KOREA – APRIL 17: An employee holds up an AFIAS Covid-19 Ab testing kit used in diagnosing the coronavirus (COVID-19) at the Boditech Med Inc. headquarters on April 17, 2020 in Chuncheon, South Korea. South Korea has called for expanded public participation in social distancing, as the country witnesses a wave of community spread and imported infections leading to a resurgence in new cases of COVID-19. South Korea’s coronavirus cases hovered around 20 for the fourth straight day, but health authorities are still staying vigilant over cluster infections, as well as new cases coming from overseas. According to the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 22 new cases were reported. The total number of infections in the nation tallies at 10,635. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
—
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Biden administration is offering new COVID-19 home tests at no cost.
Although testing is essential in the fight against COVID-19 and will be particularly useful in the coming weeks because the Omicron 2.0 wave is predicted to peak in June.
However, it’s important to be careful with the results, says Dr. Ann Loeffler, deputy chief health officer for Multnomah County.
Loeffler has noticed that many people have been testing negative on rapid tests and days later they finally test positive.
“At first I thought the test didn’t detect omicron subvariants as well,” Loeffler added.
Experts thought that might be the case as false negatives became more common, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has another theory.
“The CDC now theorizes that the reason so many of these rapid and antigen tests are false negative, especially on the first day or two of symptoms, is because many people have had COVID-19 before or been vaccinated before.” Loeffler said.
According to the CDC, people’s immunity either naturally or through vaccines is temporarily altering the outcome.
Loeffler pointed out that what is happening is that the immune system is doing exactly what it is expected to do, keeping the case mild. You may still have symptoms, but not enough for the test to detect COVID-19 early.
“Your antibodies and your white blood cells are fighting that virus, and while it’s present enough to make you sick, it’s not strong enough to make enough protein in your nose to test positive,” Loeffler said.
This means that if you have prior immunity, the CDC said you are more likely to get a false negative on a rapid test, especially in the early days of illness.
So Loeffler advises that the patient stay home if he is sick.
“You’re most contagious just before symptoms start and then the second or third day after symptoms start,” Loeffler said.
“During those days of your first symptom, even if you test negative, just stay home.”
Loeffler said these false negatives rarely occur with PCR tests, so it may be a better option for people who need an accurate result.
–
