30 • July 28, 2022 - August 3, 2022
THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS
Health Factcheck: False: Rapid COVID-19 results cannot be trusted, and it is always better to get a PCR test to know for sure whether or not you have COVID-19 Claim: Rapid COVID-19 tests don’t work well, and it is always better to get a (PCR) COVID-19 test to confirm whether or not you have COVID-19 Factcheck: False. While there are instances in which a PCR is advisable and warranted, COVID-19 rapid antigen tests are important tools for people to determine whether they have COVID-19.
By HEATHER M. BUTTS, JD, MPH, MA Special to the AmNews As the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in 2020, there were few tests available but within months several types of tests were introduced and soon became widely available. Testing is an important tool in helping contain COVID outbreaks but a great deal of misinformation has spread online about the accuracy of the different types of tests available. On May 8, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued the first emergency use authorization (EUA) for a COVID-19 rapid antigen test. The Emergency Use Authorization was issued to Quidel Corporation for the Sofia 2 SARS Antigen FIA. This came several months after the polymerase chain
reaction (PCR) tests rolled out. According to the FDA, “PCR tests can be incredibly accurate, but running the tests and analyzing the results can take time. One of the main advantages of an antigen test is the speed of the test, which can provide results in minutes.” In an interview, Dr. Wilbur Lam, professor of pediatrics and biomedical engineering at Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology, stated that there are “two categories of COVID-19 tests right now. One is the rapid test which as the name implies [is] easy to do…fairly inexpensive, and…many of them have been authorized for home use.” He explained that the science behind rapid antigen tests isn’t new, “it’s actually technology that’s been around for decades. It’s very similar to the technology
scholarly arti- mance of SARS-CoV-2 rapid cle in which the antigen test compared with reauthors stud- al-time RT-PCR in asymptomied 225 adults atic individuals” rapid antigen and children tests “might have a significant COVID testing impact on the identification of results utiliz- asymptomatic carriers in areas ing home anti- that lack suitable laboratories gen tests versus to perform” more sensitive PCR PCR tests. Ac- tests which would also take far cording to longer. The authors concluded the authors, that, given the “fast test results” “symptomatand ability to get results for inic individuals dividuals not exhibiting COVIDwith an ini- 19 symptoms, rapid tests “might tial negative have a significant role in COVIDhome antigen 19 screening, testing and contact test result for tracing strategies to control the SARS-CoV-2 in- COVID-19 pandemic.” fection should The importance of COVIDtest again 1 to 19 rapid antigen tests cannot be A tweet falsely states that rapid tests are not accurate 2 days later be- overstated. “Before the pandemic cause test sen- there wasn’t really much thought that home pregnancy tests [use]… sitivity peaked several days after that infectious diseases could be PCR has been around for many de- illness onset and improved with re- tested at home,” Dr. Lam said. cades as well…[but] because of the peated testing.” [Emphasis added.] “But what we’ve learned with the way PCR works it usually requires The practical importance of pandemic is that with accessibilia more complex gadget and usu- the rapid tests are critical. Ac- ty and the capability for the public ally it is based in hospitals.” Lam cording to author Monica Pena to have access to all these tests went on to explain the sensitivi- et al., in the article “Perfor- that…it can actually save lives.” ty of the PCR test, stating that “the difference in utility in terms of how you use them is PCR testing tends If you wish to obtain an at-home test, you to be a little bit more sensitive…it can go to one of the city-wide pick-up sites can detect a lower amount, a much less concentrated amount of virus or visit https://www.covid.gov/tests and than a rapid test.” order a test by mail. For overall information However this does not make the rapid test any less of an important regarding testing, please go to https:// tool, and individuals can use serial testing, which is testing at differwww1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19ent points in time, to “mitigate the testing.page. These and other resources can slightly decreased sensitivity of the rapid tests,” Dr. Lam explained. also be accessed on the AmNews COVID-19 Dr. Lam’s observation on serial page: https://amsterdamnews.com/covid/ testing is shared by author Victoria T. Chu, MD, MPH et al., in a
