Certainty in a maximum of 30 minutes? When the first corona rapid tests were presented, there was great hope. In the meantime, they are to be used primarily in schools and retirement homes in order to be able to quickly rule out an infection with the novel corona virus. How useful are they in the private sphere in order to prevent infections in the course of a common Christmas party?
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Rapid antigen test at the family doctor or in the test center
In some German cities there are test centers where you can be tested for an infection with the coronavirus at short notice using a rapid test. The dates shortly before the festival are almost fully booked there.
You can also ask your family doctor whether he is willing to carry out a so-called rapid antigen test. The costs for this are between 30 and 60 euros. You definitely have to pay for the test yourself.
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How safe are the corona rapid tests?
They have been on the market for quite some time. Corona rapid tests look a bit like pregnancy tests and are supposed to detect part of the coronavirus within a few minutes. Similar to the PCR test, a swab is taken from the throat.
The manufacturers of the now more than 150 rapid tests approved in Europe promise a hit rate of 99 percent. However, some studies, such as the last one from the Berlin Charité, have shown that the accuracy of some test kits is significantly lower. AND: Only a fraction of the tests available have so far been independently verified.
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Rapid tests are more likely to be wrong than PCR methods
What the use of the rapid tests in practice shows: They are far more often wrong than the more complex PCR tests from the laboratory. The results can be both false positive and false negative.
The reason for this: the rapid tests detect the virus proteins from the throat swab. Several virus particles are necessary for these to be recognized. If the amount of virus is low, it can easily lead to a false negative result.
If the person to be tested shows no or only very slight symptoms of an infection with the coronavirus, a PCR test should be used. This is because the virus genome is artificially reproduced. This means that even small amounts of the virus can be detected.
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Rapid test result does not provide reliable protection for high-risk patients
The rapid tests can help, but only specifically in individual areas and for people with symptoms. So if you want to be tested as a precaution and symptom-free so as not to accidentally infect your grandma or grandpa under the Christmas tree, you are not on the safe side with a quick test.
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