How to shop for FDA-authorized at-home Covid test kits

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While people had to wait in line for hours to get tested for Covid when the pandemic first began, companies are now selling kits to diagnose infection at home, many of which you can buy online. The government is even giving at-home test kits out for free in partnership with the U.S. Postal Service. And as Americans become increasingly concerned about Covid variants, access to tests may be on your mind. At-home testing methods are not always entirely accurate, but if you are symptomatic, they can help you determine whether what you’re experiencing is actually Covid.To get more news about hemorrhage control, you can visit rusuntacmed.com official website.

We spoke to experts about different at-home Covid testing methods and how they work, as well as who should use them. We also rounded up FDA-authorized test kits you can use at home and purchase across retailers. Experts emphasized that at-home testing is not a substitute for mask-wearing or getting vaccinated. And regardless of your vaccination status, no one should exempt themselves from getting tested for Covid if they’re experiencing compatible symptoms.
As it did with KN95 masks and Covid vaccines, the Food and Drug Administration issued Emergency Use Authorization in 2020 to certain diagnostic tests, listing them online. Unlike the EUAs for KN95 masks, these are still in effect. There are two methods of at-home testing:

Home collection tests generally produce more accurate results than at-home testing kits. Home collection kits prompt you to collect a sample and mail that sample to a lab — the lab performs a PCR test and then you get your results a day or two later. But even with home collection tests, you need to account for human error — because you are collecting the sample instead of a trained professional, there’s always the possibility of collecting a poor sample, which can impact your result.

The benefit of at-home Covid testing methods is that they allow people to get tested more frequently, which could lead to catching more infections and, in turn, decrease spread, noted Dr. Cole Beeler, director of symptomatic testing for Indiana University’s Covid Medical Response Team and an assistant professor at the IU School of Medicine. But again, there’s danger in deriving a false sense of security from at-home testing methods as they’re generally less sensitive than tests performed by professionals in medical offices.

“These tests need to be used judiciously,” Beeler said. “If you had a high-risk exposure and/or are symptomatic and you have a negative test, it still may be worthwhile to get a formal test done in a hospital lab.”