{"id":52578,"date":"2025-04-25T22:03:15","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T02:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/mayo-health-library\/covid-19-diagnostic-testing\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T12:06:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T17:06:28","slug":"covid-19-diagnostic-testing","status":"publish","type":"mayo","link":"https:\/\/hancockhealth.apgar.digital\/de\/mayo-health-library\/covid-19-diagnostic-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 diagnostic testing"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"container mx-auto   wordpress-block wordpress- core-\">\n<p>COVID-19 diagnostic testing shows current infection with the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the following types of tests for diagnosing COVID-19.<\/p>\n<h3>Molecular tests<\/h3>\n<p>These tests look for genetic material from the COVID-19 virus.<\/p>\n<p>Polymerase chain reaction tests, shortened to PCR tests, are molecular tests. The lab technique used is called reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, shortened to RT-PCR. You also may see this type of test called an NAAT test, short for nucleic acid amplification test.<\/p>\n<p>PCR tests are more accurate than the other type of COVID-19 test, called an antigen test. PCR tests may be done at home. But they are more likely to be done by a healthcare professional and processed in a lab.<\/p>\n<h3>Antigen tests<\/h3>\n<p>These tests look for viral proteins called antigens.<\/p>\n<p>Antigen tests also may be called rapid COVID-19 tests or at-home COVID-19 tests. These tests give a quick result.<\/p>\n<p>Antigen tests are accurate, but they are less accurate than PCR tests. This is especially true if you don&#8217;t have symptoms. If you take an antigen test and are negative for COVID-19, take another antigen test after 48 hours to check the results.<\/p>\n<h3>Tests for more than one virus<\/h3>\n<p>An RT-PCR test called the Flu SC2 Multiplex Assay can show any of three viruses at the same time: the COVID-19 virus, influenza A and influenza B. Only a single sample is needed to check for all three viruses.<\/p>\n<p>This test has the same risks of false results as do other COVID-19 tests.<\/p>\n<p>In the U.S., you might need a COVID-19 diagnostic test if:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You have COVID-19 symptoms, such as fever, cough, tiredness or shortness of breath. If you have symptoms, test right away.<\/li>\n<li>You were exposed to the COVID-19 virus. Wait at least five days after you&#8217;ve been exposed to take a test.<\/li>\n<li>A healthcare professional or your public health department suggests a test.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Testing before you plan to be with someone who has a high risk of serious illness from COVID-19 helps prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;ve had COVID-19 in the last 30 days and don&#8217;t have symptoms, you might not need to test even if tests are suggested.<\/p>\n<p>Some people who have COVID-19 don&#8217;t have symptoms, called asymptomatic. But they can still spread the virus to others. People with no symptoms can be tested.<\/p>\n<p>If people with no symptoms have a positive test result, they should follow guidelines for staying away from others. This helps keep the virus from spreading.<\/p>\n<p>A COVID-19 diagnostic test can have a false-negative result. This means that the test didn&#8217;t show you have the virus even though you do. You risk spreading the virus to others if you don&#8217;t take care, such as wearing a face mask, when you&#8217;re near other people.<\/p>\n<p>The FDA requires that rapid antigen diagnostic tests catch at least 80% of infections. To lower the risk of false-negative results, the FDA recommends testing more than once.<\/p>\n<p>Rarely, COVID-19 rapid antigen tests can give false-positive results.<\/p>\n<p>False-positive results mean the test results show that you have the virus when you don&#8217;t. A false-positive is rare and thought to happen in less than 1% of results.<\/p>\n<p>In some cases, a false-positive result could be caused by a manufacturing error. Early evidence suggests that this result may be more common in people with a history of autoimmune disease.<\/p>\n<p>Don&#8217;t use at-home COVID-19 tests that the FDA has not cleared for use. They may give the wrong results.<\/p>\n<p>In the United States, at-home COVID-19 tests are available. You can buy tests in stores, pharmacies or online. It&#8217;s useful to have tests before you need them. And it&#8217;s good to have more than one test in case you need to repeat the test.<\/p>\n<p>The FDA approves COVID-19 tests. On the FDA website, you can find a list of approved tests and when they expire. COVID-19 tests also are available from healthcare professionals, some pharmacies and clinics, or at community testing sites.<\/p>\n<p>When taking a test at home, read the directions that come with the test carefully. Follow the instructions exactly to get as accurate a result as possible.<\/p>\n<p>If you go somewhere to get tested, wear a face mask. Wear a mask even if you don&#8217;t have symptoms.<\/p>\n<p>COVID-19 tests use a sample of mucus from your nose or throat or a sample of saliva. You might collect the sample yourself for an at-home test. Or a healthcare professional might collect the sample.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Nose or throat swab.<\/strong> Most often, tests use a long nasal swab to get the sample. You or a healthcare professional puts the swab into one nostril at a time and turns it. A healthcare professional might swab the back of your throat to collect the sample.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Saliva sample.<\/strong> Some locations test using spit, called saliva. A saliva sample may be a bit less sensitive than a mucus sample that&#8217;s taken using a long nasal swab. But a saliva test is easier to do. You spit into a tube several times to provide a sample of your saliva to test. The tube then goes to a lab.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A healthcare provider also may test for other illnesses, such as the flu, that have similar symptoms and that you may have.<\/p>\n<p>Your COVID-19 diagnostic test result could be positive or negative.<\/p>\n<h3>Positive result<\/h3>\n<p>This means that you have an infection with the virus that causes COVID-19. Positive test results most often are correct, even if you have no symptoms. You can spread the virus to others even if you have no symptoms.<\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;ll need to stay away from other people, including others in your home who aren&#8217;t sick. You can go back to your daily activities when your symptoms have been getting better for at least 24 hours and it&#8217;s been 24 hours since you&#8217;ve had a fever without taking medicines that lower fevers.<\/p>\n<p>You might still be able to spread the virus even though you feel better. To prevent spreading the virus, wear a mask for five more days. Keep your distance from others. Take another home COVID-19 test if you plan to be around others indoors.<\/p>\n<p>If you get a fever or start to feel worse again, start over with staying home and staying away from others. Repeat the cycle of instructions.<\/p>\n<p>If you have severe symptoms of COVID-19 or a health condition that lowers your ability to fight disease, your healthcare professional may tell you to stay away from other people longer than five days.<\/p>\n<h3>Negative result<\/h3>\n<p>This means that you likely don&#8217;t have an infection with the COVID-19 virus. But you may have a false-negative test result. If you have symptoms or were around someone who had COVID-19, stay away from others.<\/p>\n<p>Even if you don&#8217;t have symptoms, test again after 48 hours. If it&#8217;s still negative, and you think you have COVID, you can test a third time after another 48 hours. Or you can get a molecular test or call your healthcare professional.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Find out how to test to learn if you&#8217;re infected with the virus that causes COVID-19.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[1687,1682],"class_list":["post-52578","mayo","type-mayo","status-publish","hentry","tag-medical-procedure","tag-person-group-concept","content_type-tests-procedures"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>COVID-19 diagnostic testing - Hancock Health<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"COVID-19 diagnostic testing - 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