Can at-home rapid COVID tests make your holiday gatherings safer? What to know
With end-of-year holidays quickly approaching, how do we stay safe in gatherings where some people may not be vaccinated?
Testing before get-togethers can help, experts say.
“Ideally, we would encourage people to get a test if they are unvaccinated and going to an event with people who are higher risk,” said UNC Family Medicine’s Dr. Amir Barzin.
“For vaccinated individuals, it is an extra layer of protection if getting together indoors with a larger group of people than normal.”
Note that trying to get a traditional COVID test right before holidays can be a little more difficult, due to higher demand. Plan ahead so that you can get an appointment.
“There is mention that Raleigh will require appointments for their testing, so more sites are shifting from walk-ins to appointments,” Barzin said.
Here’s what to know about COVID testing and holiday gatherings.
Why get vaccinated if I can just take a COVID test?
While testing before gatherings can help, experts warn against relying too heavily on testing. Health officials stress that getting vaccinated is the best way to keep your family, friends and neighbors safe and protected.
“Testing is a strategy for early detection of new cases, but is not a personal prevention strategy,” said Dr. Emily Sickbert-Bennett, the director of UNC Medical Center Infection Prevention.
“Testing can give false sense of security if individuals mistakenly rely on a previous negative result when they have new symptoms or have had a new high risk exposure since being tested,” she said.
Barzin agrees that testing should be thought of as an added layer of protection.
“When we think of our defense barriers, vaccination and masking are the most important,” Barzin said. “Adding in testing is a helpful add-on safety mechanism to allow for another layer of security, especially in a blended setting.”
Also, keep in mind that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention strongly cautions against traveling until you are fully vaccinated. (You are fully vaccinated two weeks after the second dose of your Pfizer or Moderna shot, or after your first and only Johnson & Johnson shot.)
Over 60% of eligible North Carolinians have received at least one dose of their COVID vaccine, and 56% of those eligible are fully vaccinated.
How to time a COVID test before gatherings?
In general, testing 48 to 72 hours before an event is helpful, said Barzin.
What are at-home rapid COVID tests?
At-home rapid COVID tests:
- Can be administered — and give your results — in the comfort of your own home
- Tell you if you are actively carrying COVID-19
- Give you results in under 20 minutes
“The fact that they are rapid,” Gigi Gronvall, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said to the New York Times, is what “makes them a really great test to make sure somebody is not infectious at that moment.”
Are at-home rapid COVID tests accurate?
“The gold standard for testing is a PCR-based test,” said Barzin. “With that said, at-home, rapid antigen tests are good tests, especially for those with symptoms.”
Rapid antigen tests are less sensitive than PCR tests, according to the New York Times.
If you take one during the earliest phase of your infection before the virus has widely replicated throughout your body, your test could return a false negative.
Some at-home rapid antigen tests catch infections in roughly 85% of people infected with the virus, missing 15%. In some studies, their real-world performance has been even lower.
Antigen tests are excellent at flagging people who have have a high amount of the virus in their systems — and who are most likely to be actively transmitting it to others, experts told the Times.
Overall, at-home rapid tests are an important tool for public health, even though they have their limitations.
Here are some other points to consider about tests:
▪ At-home rapid tests differ from at-home self-testing kits, as self-testing kits require you to send your sample to a lab for processing.
▪ The rapid kit lets you process at home and get results in minutes.
▪ The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization for molecular and antigen rapid tests. Both of these tests diagnose an active COVID-19 infection, which an antibody test does not do.
Where can I buy an at-home COVID test kit?
Health experts anticipate a higher demand for COVID tests right before and right after the major end-of-year holidays, so in-person tests may become harder to get.
▪ In-store or online? While finding home test kits in stores can be hit or miss, websites like CVS, Walmart and Walgreens seem to have them in stock.
▪ Buy early. Try to get them prior to big holidays — a day-of search will probably be unsuccessful.
New York Times health columnist Tara Parker-Pope recommends searching by brand name: “If a store is sold out of a rapid test, the website may direct you to a different type of test, called a home collection test, that requires you to mail the sample to get the result. But hold out until you find a rapid test.”
How much do at-home rapid COVID tests cost?
A two-pack of rapid tests on Amazon ranges from $23.99 for the Quidel QuickVue to $34.99 for the On/Go test (or Access Bio’s CareStart test), MedPage Today wrote.
Prices for rapid tests start at $23.99 on the websites for CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid.
Many health officials believe these prices are too high.
“Paying $25 for a box of two tests is ridiculous,” Dr. Carlos del Rio of Atlanta’s Emory University told MedPage Today. “Frankly, it’s a travesty that in the middle of a pandemic we have such poor access to rapid testing. ... They should cost $5 for two tests.”
Instead of paying for the tests, Barzin recommends going to the NCDHH’s website: “There are many free testing events, and some with rapid antigen tests.”
How do I use an at-home rapid test kit?
Most at-home rapid tests will have you collect a specimen — or a sample for scientific study — by swirling a swab (that looks similar to a Q-Tip) inside both of your nostrils. This collects the sample to be tested.
If you’re taking a molecular test:
- Insert the swab into a small container, where the sample on your swab meets a reagent. This chemical reveals the sample’s genetic makeup to see if you carry COVID-19.
- Place the container in a base unit.
- Receive your results either through the base unit or a smartphone app.
If you’re taking an antigen test:
- Place your swab in a disposable reader (which is usually made of paper), where it interacts with a test strip.
- Add some drops of the kit’s reagent.
- See if the strip shows a positive, negative or unknown result.
The CDC recommends doing the following:
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions exactly and perform the steps in the order that they are listed. The manufacturer may also provide other resources, such as quick reference guides or instructional videos, to help you perform the test correctly.
Follow these tips:
- Store all test components according to the manufacturer’s instructions until ready for use.
- Check the expiration date. Don’t use expired tests or test components that are damaged or appear discolored based on the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Clean the countertop, table, or other surfaces where you will do the test.
- Don’t open test devices or other test components until you are ready to start the testing process.
- Read and record test results only within the amount of time specified in the manufacturer’s instructions. A result read before or after the specified timeframe may be incorrect.
- Don’t reuse test devices or other components.
- After you have the results, discard the specimen collection swab and test kit in the trash, clean all surfaces that the specimen may have touched, and wash your hands.
About your results: Inconclusive or unclear test results are rare but can occur. If this happens, the CDC recommends referring to the instructions for use in the package insert and contacting the manufacturer for assistance.
When should I take a COVID test?
▪ Unvaccinated people should get tested immediately after finding out they’ve had close contact with someone infected. If this test is negative, the CDC recommends a second test five to seven days later.
▪ If you are vaccinated, you should wait five to seven days before getting tested if you think you’ve been in contact with virus carriers. Get tested immediately if you develop symptoms.
Testing is most effective if you experience symptoms — like a cough, fever, chills or shortness of breath — or have had high-risk exposure, Sickbert-Bennett said.
▪ Test twice: Tests are often sold in two-packs, as the CDC recommends that you perform a second test on yourself a few days after performing the first one. This can help avoid initial false negative or false positive results.
“The FDA wants to remind patients that all tests can experience false negative and false positive results,” an FDA press release says.
“Individuals with positive results should self-isolate and seek additional care from their health care provider. Individuals who test negative and experience COVID-like symptoms should follow up with their health care provider as negative results do not rule out a COVID-19 infection.”
What if you think your rapid COVID test results are incorrect?
When in doubt, take a different kind of test.
Dr. Michael Mina, an epidemiologist at Harvard and a proponent of rapid testing, told the New York Times that when you have reason to doubt a positive result, you should take another test through a different manufacturer,
You can be confident if the second test’s result is negative, he said.
This story was originally published November 22, 2021 at 10:51 AM with the headline "Can at-home rapid COVID tests make your holiday gatherings safer? What to know."
