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
• COVID-19 Testing Overview (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Community-Based Testing Sites for COVID-19 (Department of Health and Human Services)
• Coronavirus Self-Checker (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Directory of Local Health Departments (National Association of County and City Health Officials)

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) Also in Spanish
• How Do COVID-19 Antibody Tests Differ from Diagnostic Tests? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Nasal Swab (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Self-Testing (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Also in Spanish
• Test for Current COVID-19 Infection (Viral Test) (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: Effect of Opt-In vs Opt-Out Framing on Enrollment in a COVID-19...
• Article: Should COVID-19 testing programs also screen for HIV?
• Article: Individual and social determinants of SARS-CoV-2 testing and positivity in Ontario,...
• COVID-19 Testing -- see more articles

Children

• Coronavirus (COVID-19): Getting Tested (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish