04-30-2020, 06:08 PM
The other potential big testing news is the devleopment of a rapid antigen test. This is like the rapid flu test.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shot...d-concerns
The upshot is that it will be able to give results in near real time. So you can imagine a number of use cases, such as healthcare providers who may have been exposed.
The downside is that like the rapid strep test or the rapid flu test, a negative test wouldn't truly rule out COVID-19, especially in the presymptomatic period. So my guess is that the use case is as a screening test where your prior probability of having COVID-19 is pretty low to begin with (no known exposures, no symptoms, no temperature, and a negative RAT means you can go to work). On the other hand, if you have a high suspicion (symptoms or known contact), the test would only be useful to rule someone in, but would need to be confirmed with PCR if initially negative.
BC
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shot...d-concerns
The upshot is that it will be able to give results in near real time. So you can imagine a number of use cases, such as healthcare providers who may have been exposed.
The downside is that like the rapid strep test or the rapid flu test, a negative test wouldn't truly rule out COVID-19, especially in the presymptomatic period. So my guess is that the use case is as a screening test where your prior probability of having COVID-19 is pretty low to begin with (no known exposures, no symptoms, no temperature, and a negative RAT means you can go to work). On the other hand, if you have a high suspicion (symptoms or known contact), the test would only be useful to rule someone in, but would need to be confirmed with PCR if initially negative.
BC