Campbell, referring to a #swabyourthroat hashtag that is trending. “There is some PCR-based data that saliva is better, but the home tests are designed to work with a nasal swab and very few responsible people would think you should replace a nasal swab with a throat swab. Sheldon Campbell, MD, PhD, a Yale Medicine pathologist and microbiologist, cautions against getting caught up in what he calls mostly anecdotal data. Recently, there has been discussion about whether throat swabs or saliva samples are better at detecting Omicron compared to the more mainstream method of nasal swabs-or if rapid tests are less effective at detecting Omicron.
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Therefore, they have not been as rigorously tested or vetted as other medical tests with full FDA approval.Īnd since the virus is new, all the tests are also new, meaning we have neither a long track record of comparing results, nor a true gold-standard test yet.įurthermore, with each new variant, new questions arise. That’s because all of the tests-and there are hundreds of them, from a growing number of companies and laboratories-are offered through a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorization (EUA).
Some of these questions are easy to answer, while others are more difficult-particularly when it comes to accuracy. In which situations is a laboratory-based (often called PCR) test best? If you are traveling and need to show a negative COVID test, which should you get? Are they all equally accurate? Do some produce results faster than others? And how far does that Q-tip go up your nose with each kind? If you can get your hands on a test, you might find the different options confusing.
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The federal government hopes to alleviate the bottleneck by requiring private insurance companies to start reimbursing customers for at-home tests and by distributing 1 billion free rapid tests to Americans. Unfortunately, at-home tests have also become difficult-if not impossible-to find.
Often called rapid tests, such kits are sold in drugstores and online, allowing people to test themselves-and get results-in their own home in a matter of minutes. So, many turned to at-home COVID-19 tests. As Omicron surged, appointments at sites where results are processed by a laboratory became difficult to find in a timely manner. Because information about COVID-19 changes rapidly, we encourage you to visit the websites of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), and your state and local government for the latest information.Īs the highly contagious Omicron variant continues to sweep across the country, people-even those who are fully vaccinated-are wondering if the onset of cold and flu symptoms is really a sign of COVID-19 infection.īut COVID testing has become a complicated issue. Note: Information in this article was accurate at the time of original publication.
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