At-Home COVID Tests: How They Compare and What You Need to Know

You can buy a box of 5 Flowflex covid tests (not the combo w/flu) for about $30 on Amazon

According to the info in this article, the free tests I received (Osang Healthcare) from the US government are among the LOWEST accuracy!! I'm going to buy some FlowFlex tests. I have no financial interest in these or any other test kits.

I was exposed to someone who tested positive and have been testing negative using Flowflex. Just to compare I used the test we just received from the government, AccessBio, which had what looked like a positive line at the full ten minutes. It was really faint, no color, just a shadow. Which one should I believe and which one should I use to test again today? It is quite difficult to get a PCR test in my neighborhood, which at this point is what I feel I should get. I should add that I have long-Covid so it’s really hard to know if I am symptomatic. No fever, no runny nose. It’s frustrating that it’s so hard to get a PCR test now.

Thank you for this excellent demonstration and explanation about the Covid tests. Very well done and much appreciated.

my daughter and her family had covid 3 weeks ago. they all tested + for 11 days. same with my brother.

What about iHealth Covid 19 at home tests? They have been distributed for free at all Mont Co libraries for about a year. Results in 15 min after a nasal swab. I would love to know how accurate this test is.

Any reports or research Consumer Lab has done on the at-home molecular tests for Covid-19? Apparently there are 3 that have FDA approval: Cue Health, Lucira Health and Detect. Would be very interested in ConsumerLab's Review. Thanks.

I tried to order free test kits by mail from the government through the post office. Received automatic response refusing to ship to my home because I have a home office and they refuse to mail test kits to a business. Only been receiving residential mail here for 30 years. Filed a protest. Got an automatic response telling me that the post office is overworked and understaffed and they don't know when they will get back to me to resolve the issue. Sigh. I will buy the test kits from the pharmacy.

The first free test from the government I received was an iHealth but expires in June 2022. I just received the second free test from the government on 3/17/2022, it is a Clinitest from Siemens and it expires 12/2022. Hoping I don't need to use but nice to have on hand just in case.

I don't trust negative results on antigen tests. When on 1/23, my mildly-symptomatic husband tested positive with Abbott BinaxNOW, I tested negative. (He got a sotrovimab infusion from his hospital, which wanted him back at work ASAP). 2 days later, and starting to feel a bit "off," I tested negative with FlowFlex. 36 hrs. later, feeling a little scratchy-throated, I tested negative with OnGo. I awoke the next day with a low fever and a mildly sore throat--per OnGo, still negative. Next morning, with temp >100F, I went to my health system's immediate care clinic to be tested for flu (despite having had the flu shot, I thought I might have a strain not in this year's quadrivalent). PCR test 10 min. later came back neg. for flu but positive for COVID! Started Paxlovid that evening, asymptomatic again w/in 24 hrs. Tested negative on day 6 and again on day 10 with QuickVue

But then a month after my positive PCR and the day after eating salmon I'd defrosted in its wrapper before cooking--a botulism hazard, I then learned--I felt queasy with stomach pains, and a fever of 99.9-100.9F (depending on type of thermometer--ear, oral, non-contact). I wanted to rule out botulism. Still negative with QuickVue. My primary said to go back to the clinic, which refused to PCR-test me because they claimed I could still PCR-test positive for 90 days--long past recovery and my symptoms & fever were too mild for flu. After doing an EKG to rule out an atypical heart attack, they said it was probably a norovirus (food poisoning wouldn't have caused fever) or perhaps even hunger pangs (as my distress was bad enough to have robbed me of my appetite for >24hrs).

So I have very little faith in the accuracy of negative results on home antigen tests. BTW, at the end of Feb. we finally got our gov't freebies: two iHealth kits. They're staying in the closet.

I received the free government tests today - Clinitest.

I received only two kits in the package, and they were from iHealth. I'd like to know if others have received less than four. I had purchased better kits, so I'm concerned more about a scam contractor. These were mailed by a firm in Topeka, Kansas.

I just received my government-distributed COVID tests. They're made by AccessBio

I got the free government test today - iHealth.

I received the AccessBio test kit free from my health insurance provider Anthem BCBS in the end of November. I have not used the kit and see that it has an expiration date of January 2022. What is the typical shelf life of an antigen test. Should I dispose of it now that it is February 4th?

I received the ihealth test from the federal government today, and my state (Colorado) also sending out at home tests, likewise sent me an ihealth test kit.

Just received the free Government iHealth model ICO-3000 Antigen Rapid Test.

I received the Free U.S. Government tests yesterday. They were Roche At-Home tests made in Korea by SDBiosensor. The info. on the box indicates they should be stored between 36-86 degrees F and the test packets have temp. symbols. Since the temp. was 24 degrees when the box was delivered, I called Roche to see if their tests were now compromised. I was informed they factor in sustainability in cold weather shipments and the tests should be brought to room temperature before using.

I just received the free tests sent out by the Federal government. They are iHealth Covid-19 Antigen Rapid Test. How reliable are they?

With so many variables, which PCR test and antigen test would you use for yourself?

When my brother told me a friend of his was sick and did not know whether he had covid or the flu, I asked why doesn’t he get tested? My brother claims that covid tests cannot always discriminate between covid and the flu. I have never seen any evidence to support a potentially baseless claim. What are the facts on this question?

I have been searching the web and cannot find an answer to my question. I have a special needs brother being taken care of by an incompetent healthcare company where the aides do not wear masks and do not make my brother wear a mask or his roommate. I caught them all not wearing masks during a visit I made to the house. My brother had a breakthrough case of covid while being vaccinated with 2 Pfizer shots, but was not taken to get the booster when he clearly needed it. He got covid with Delta being the prominent type in our area. He then had a monoclonal antibody treatment. If he gets covid again, with probably the Omicron variant, how can he be tested to see if he has a current case of covid? Which tests should he take to make sure he doesn’t have an active case? He is coming to live with us and our household has been isolating and fully boosted since the start of the pandemic. Thanks

Thanks for the overall guidance on the plethora of tests available.

I had a false positive with the Quidel QuickVue, confirmed by three subsequent negative tests on the same day - the Abbott BinaxNOW, and both a rapid and a PCR through a local clinic.

If I have no symptoms and no reason to suspect thatI've been infected, but want to be sure for being around someone vulnerable, should I take a test, and, if so, what kind?

personally, i would not trust what the company says about their tests, given the ginning up of cases.

The InBios website shows that sensitivity and specificity are 97.8% and 98.9%, respectively, whereas you have it listed as 100% for both. Has there been an update I'm unaware of?

Thank you for providing this excellent information!

https://inbios.com/scov-2-detect-igg-elisa-kit-2/

Is it true that Covid 19 anti body tests can come back positive if one has had a recent common cold?

Do any of the more accurate antibody tests provide the consumer with a specific number related to antibody levels? Or all they all positive/negative/inconclusive?

Is this statement from above accurate?

Note that in a population where few people (e.g., 5%) actually have antibodies, a test that is not at 100% on specificity, such as the test from Healgen that provides 97.56% specificity and 100% sensitivity, a positive result may only be correct 67.8% the time, although a negative result would nearly always be correct.

If specificity is 97.56% why only correct 67.8% of the time?

Can you talk about test results coming back "inconclusive" for Covid?

My daughter and her husband both were sick with covid-19 and now, two month later both tested positive for covid anti-body. However, among their small children who did not have any symptoms, only one out of three tested has anti-body. Which seems to confirm that asymptomatic people don't develop AB.

Would you please offer information on the differences found in the saliva tests versus the blood testing?

Co-Diagnostics company in Utah has a 100% sensitivity and specificity test for Covid-19.

Hi, do you know if people that have the antibody (have been infected), have been re-infected again with the virus?

Which tests are being used by Verily (Project Baseline )? I’m curious to their quality compared to some of the other tests you mention.

Isn't Covid-19 too new of a disease that it is unknown that even if you have the presence of antibodies to the virus it does not indicate immunity?

You are doing a wonderful job in covering various important aspects of this corona virus epidemic, including evaluating protective gear, testing, benefits of supplements. This is information people really want to know, and you assemble this in a very helpful way. I am grateful for your extended coverage from supplements to other aspects of protecting our health and increasing our knowledge of what is available.

This page should be available to the public as a public service, not just to those of us who subscribe to CL. If it were, I would post a link to it on Facebook etc. -- which would be advertising for CL. Please consider this.

Mayo Clinic says they’ve developed their own approved tests and I know specimens are being sent there from other states. Are those tests in this table?

Greetings! What a remarkably clear, concise and helpful article - very impressive! I have been looking for this kind of summary with no luck until now. Thank you!

I had tried in past to understand these concepts, but it was murky. I finally watched this video and understood this important info about the accuracy and usefulness of the new antibody tests. this is first explanation of the issue (and math) and what it means that is so clear that I could understand it.

"There is new information from the CDC that COVID 19 antibody testing in populations with a low prevalence of infection results in a high number of false positives (even if the test has a specificity of 95%). Dr. Seheult illustrates why the positive predictive value (and negative predictive value) are generally more helpful than sensitivity and specificity alone (This video was recorded on May 28, 2020) "

Coronavirus Pandemic Update 76: Antibody Testing False Positives in COVID-19 - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSRK41UbTEU&list=TLPQMjgwNTIwMjAxOSFRpLFKrQ&index=3

Which antibody test is being used in Minnesota by Mayo Clinic? I thought it was a serum test that Mayo developed themselves, but I do not recognize a Mayo test in your list. thanks for tracking this info. I had searched online and found this info on sensitivity and specificity impossible to locate for each test.

Thanks for synthesizing this information in one place! When we say a test is for example 95% sensitive we mean that of 100 people *known for certain to have a disease*, the test correctly identifies 95 of them (95% true positives). Saying this implies there's a test or situation that is by definition always correct (a gold standard to which other tests are compared). What's the gold standard for COVID-19 antibody testing? For example, might we find 100 people who had positive PCR tests (and a consistent clinical picture), then do antibody tests on them 3 or 4 weeks later? If 95 of them had a positive antibody test, would we say that particular antibody test was 95% sensitive? (And would specificity be established in the same way - find 100 people with consistent negative PCRs and no symptoms, and then some weeks later if 5 of them had antibodies would we say the test was 95% specific?). I asked an epidemiologist this question and they agreed it could be done this way but they weren't sure that was how labs actually got their sensitivity and specificity figures. Thank you!

Excellent description of testing issues!

Folks mostly do not understand prevalence, sensitivity, specificity, and sero-conversion.

bill g, mph

I've seen no mention anywhere of whether biotin supplementation will interfere with some of the antibody tests. I assume it's possible since Troponin, thyroid hormones, Hep A, B, and C antibody tests can be falsely negative if a patient is consuming biotin.

Hoping there will be a review of the Quest antibody test.

This is very interesting: the base rate fallacy, I admit I had never heard of it, but then I avoid statistics if I can. Does this mean even a antibody test 100% both sensitive and specific will have false positives?
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/13/opinion/antibody-test-accuracy.html?referringSource=articleShare

"Just Because You Test Positive for Antibodies Doesn’t Mean You Have Them"

In a population whose infection rate is 5 percent, a test that is 90 percent accurate could deliver a false positive nearly 70 percent of the time.

Although this may not be your area of expertise, I'm looking for reasons why and why not to get a voluntary test. I'd like to know if I've been exposed, but if I was then what could happen to me? What could I be forced to do?

There is a story that anybody positive for COVID cannot join the military. I recall a reluctance in the population to be tested for HIV many years ago.

You mentioned that some anti-body tests were approved by EU. Which ones? Are they available for purchase in U.S. for home use?

I had the virus for 5 weeks, even though I had 3 negative tests. I took my first test at the 2 1/2 week mark, nasal rapid test swab and it was negative. I continued to have symptoms and then 1 1/2 weeks later I took a 2nd swab test that got sent to the lab, negative again. At the 5 week mark, I got a blood test with Quest and it came back negative that I never had the virus or antibodies.

I know I had the virus as the symptoms were it to a T. How can we rely on any of these tests?

Is it possible to get the virus sickness twice?

I read your article about covid tests. I know someone who had symptoms and had 2 negative tests. She had trouble breathing and went to the hospital on Sat. Had a negative test and they sent her home. She went back to the hospital Sunday and died there.

Someone my daughter knows had a negative test and then tested positive and died. Makes me worry that these tests aren’t accurate. What do you think?

I would like to see your comments as to whether the antibodies actually offer protection from reinfection or not. Many are reporting/speculating that with rapid mutation and reported reinfections that we still are not sure about protection .

Which antibody tests have received approval vs. EUA? There is a list for EUA companies but I have not found the list for approvals.

I've heard that the nasal swab is very painful. Is the saliva swab just as good?