Dr. Chen Hong said the current dominant variant has a shorter incubation period, which means that if you go to a busy bar on a Friday night and have no symptoms on Monday, you’re less likely to get the virus. He says if you still have no symptoms by Wednesday, you should probably be fine, although you will need to get tested to confirm it.
However, it is still possible to have asymptomatic cases of Covid – and the more people develop immunity to the virus through previous vaccinations and infections, the more cases are asymptomatic or very mild, says Dr. The contagious Celine Gunder. Pathologist, Senior Fellow and General Editor of Public Health at Kaiser Health News. Even if you have no symptoms, she says, you can still spread the virus, which makes it important to get tested before meeting sensitive people.
“If you’re going to sit down with your grandmother for Thanksgiving dinner,” she said, “I’ll try it right away.”
If you feel bad, stay home, even if the quick test result is negative. “Anyone who isn’t feeling well should stay home, because the test isn’t perfect,” said Dr. Ratner.
Try wisely.
The question isn’t whether to test before a family reunion; It’s time to test and how often.
Experts differ on the exact time and sequence of tests to perform, but to get the most accurate measurement of whether or not you are contagious before the event, do a quick home test just before the event. “You can have a little rehearsal party outside, where everyone says, ‘Okay, we’re fine now, we’re negative, we can go see my mom,'” says Stuart Ray, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins University. Medical School Yesterday also suggested a quick test.
“Rapid tests are great, but not ideal,” says Dr. Pritchett. The PCR test is more sensitive, she says, but it can take several days to get the results, so a five-day snapshot of your infected status won’t help determine if you’re currently infected. If you can get a quick PCR turnaround, it can increase your confidence of being negative; If not, perform at least two quick tests, 12-24 hours apart. (However, if you’ve contracted Covid in the past two or three months, PCR can remain positive past the point where you’re infectious, says Dr. Ratner, so you should rely on a quick test.)
