![]() ![]() This program looks to be continuing after the federal public health emergency ended on May 11, but it’s unclear how much longer it’ll last. The White House website /tests has been offering separate orders of free COVID antigen tests for each household during the pandemic. Order your (last) four free tests from the White House via USPS Here’s how to keep getting free or low-cost antigen tests: And certainly, the days when packs of antigen COVID tests were given out for free are gone. There’s no getting around this fact: In 2023, finding free or low-cost antigen COVID tests is much harder than in previous years of the pandemic. Can I still get free antigen tests anywhere? If you’re not sure, check for a few indicators like misspellings or lack of an expiration date.Ī full list of FDA-approved tests can be found here. Most major pharmacies carry only FDA-approved antigen tests. Some but not all doctors recommend swabbing the inside of the throat also, especially if a sore throat is presenting as a symptom.Īlso important when buying at-home tests is to make sure the tests have not expired (more on that below) and that they are not counterfeit. You have to swab relatively hard,” Chin-Hong said. “Make sure you’re not just swabbing snot but you’re swabbing the cells in your nose. That’s why antigen tests generally recommend you blow your nose before swabbing. For example, when swabbing the nostril, scrape the inner lining of the nose rather than just the snot and boogers hanging about. Improving your sample collection for at-home tests will also improve your chances of getting an accurate result. “Test just before the visit if you’re going to check before seeing Grandma,” Chin-Hong said.Īnd, if you have COVID symptoms and test negative, “take precautions as if you have COVID and repeat the test every one to two days,” Swartzberg said. If you’re looking to test before a large event or before visiting someone who may be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, test right before the visit to get the most accurate read. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert and professor at UCSF. If you were exposed to someone with COVID-19, but are not experiencing symptoms, or your symptoms are mild, one rule of thumb is to test five days after the exposure, according to Dr. When (and how) should I use an antigen rapid test to get the most accurate result? ![]() PCR tests look for viral genetic material, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whereas antigen tests detect proteins on the surface of the virus. In general, rapid antigen tests are less sensitive and therefore less likely to detect an infection compared with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. ![]()
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