If you haven’t had a Covid-19 test lately, you may need it soon. But which one?
Last year, there were often long waiting times to get an appointment with the doctor to do a Covid-19 test and even longer delays to get results. Here’s the good news: testing options are now more plentiful, often easier to perform, and offer faster results. The bad news: options may be more confusing, and with the spread of the Covid-19 Delta variant, some are scarce.
Opt for a nasal swab that is sent to the lab and may be more accurate, but does it take days to get results or what can you take to the pharmacy, do it at home, and get results in 15 minutes? Should you choose the type of test that Covid-19 usually detects before infection? Or the one who may not catch it until you get infected?
Sometimes, “the best test is the test you can do,” says Dr. John Brooks, chief physician of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Covid-19 response.
The highly infectious Delta variant, which has driven transmissions, including advanced infections among some already vaccinated, has led to the completion of some of the Covid-19 test kits that were available in April and have extended some time. ‘just wait. Earlier this week, Abbott Laboratories’ two-test BinaxNow self-test, which sells for $ 20 to $ 24, was temporarily out of stock on Amazon.com, and the Ellume Covid-19 homemade test kit did not. was available there.