COVID-19 Testing

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics

See, Play and Learn

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

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For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is a disease caused by a virus called SARS-CoV-2. There are two types of tests for this virus:

• A viral test tells you if you have a current infection. Viral tests can either be rapid tests or laboratory tests:
  • Rapid tests can be done in minutes. They are often antigen tests, which look for specific proteins from the virus. Some rapid tests are self-tests which you can do at home.
  • Laboratory tests can take days to complete and include PCR tests.
• An antibody (serology) test might tell you if you had a past infection.

If you need a COVID-19 test, you can:

• Buy a self-test online or at a store. Make sure that the test you buy has been authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
• Check your state or local health department's website for information on testing in your area.
• Contact your health care provider.

Even if your COVID-19 viral test is negative (the test did not detect the virus), you should still take steps to protect yourself and others.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Start Here

• COVID-19 Test Basics (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Antibody Serology Tests (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• At-Home Medical Tests (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Directory of Local Health Departments (National Association of County and City Health Officials)
• PCR Tests (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Rapid Tests (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Testing for COVID-19 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Related Issues

• Test to Treat (Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response)

Specifics

• At-Home OTC COVID-19 Diagnostic Tests (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• COVID-19 Antibody Testing (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• How Do COVID-19 Antibody Tests Differ from Diagnostic Tests? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• How Do I Know if the Expiration Date of My At-Home COVID-19 Test Has Been Extended? (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• Nasal Swab (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) (National Institutes of Health)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: COVID-19 Antibody Test (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: COVID-19 Viral Test (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Elevated Ambient Temperature Associated With Reduced Infectious Disease Test Positivity Rates:...
• Article: Improving uptake of COVID-19 testing and vaccination in a homeless population:...
• Article: Community utilization of a co-created COVID-19 testing program in a US/Mexico...
• COVID-19 Testing -- see more articles

Children

• Coronavirus (COVID-19): Getting Tested (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Coronavirus (COVID-19): Viral Testing (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Self-testing for COVID-19 (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish