COVID-19 Testing

Summary

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is an illness caused by a virus. This virus is a new coronavirus that has spread throughout the world. It is called SARS-CoV-2. There are two types of tests for this virus:

• A viral test tells you if you have a current infection
• An antibody (serology) test might tell you if you had a past infection

If you think that you need a COVID-19 test, contact your health care provider. You can also check your state or local health department's website for information on testing in your area.

Even if a test shows that you do not currently have COVID-19, you should still take steps to protect yourself and others.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Start Here

• Coronavirus Disease 2019 Testing Basics (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish
• Testing for COVID-19 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Coronavirus Self-Checker (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Find Your Local Health Department (National Association of County & City Health Officials)
• How to Get a COVID-19 Test (Department of Health and Human Services)

Related Issues

• Beware of Fraudulent Coronavirus Tests, Vaccines and Treatments (Food and Drug Administration) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• COVID-19 Antibody Testing (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• How do COVID-19 Antibody Tests Differ from Diagnostic Tests? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Nasal Swab (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Test for Current COVID-19 Infection (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Test for Past COVID-19 Infection (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

Videos and Tutorials

• Antibody Test for COVID-19 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Viral Test for COVID-19 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

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: COVID-19: Understanding Testing.
• Article: Diagnostic Yield of Computed Tomography for the Identification of Coronavirus Disease...
• Article: Using antibiotics wisely for respiratory tract infection in the era of...
• COVID-19 Testing -- see more articles

Children

• Coronavirus (COVID-19): What Are the Different Types of Tests? (Nemours Foundation)