Home Covid Testing

[gattara]

Thanks to all who have been talking about the $14 BinaxNOW test at Walmart. I figure it's cheap and wouldn't hurt to have it on hand. Glad you brought it to our attention.

 

[braumeister]

Thanks to all who have been talking about the $14 BinaxNOW test at Walmart. I figure it's cheap and wouldn't hurt to have it on hand. Glad you brought it to our attention.

Well, maybe.

I also thought it was a good idea so I went to a Walmart today where the website said they were in stock.
No, they said, you have to order them online and pick it up the next day.

So I ordered them online and arranged to pick up tomorrow.
Half an hour later I got an email saying they were not available at all, sorry.

 

[street]

I have a question. So, if you have the vaccine shot and take the Home Testing Test will it be positive because you took the shots?

I was told if you took the shot/shots the covid test will show up as positive?

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I have a question. So, if you have the vaccine shot and take the Home Testing Test will it be positive because you took the shots?

I was told if you took the shot/shots the covid test will show up as positive?

Not true. One of those internet rumors that have persisted. Sure, false positives happen but there are a multitude of reasons that this could happen.

DW and I have been fully vaxxed and have had "full strength" boosters and have taken several of the Binax at home tests and no positive results.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/testing/self-testing.html

 

[explanade]

Thanks to all who have been talking about the $14 BinaxNOW test at Walmart. I figure it's cheap and wouldn't hurt to have it on hand. Glad you brought it to our attention.

Beware that they may have expiration dates.

 

[street]

Not true. One of those internet rumors that have persisted. Sure, false positives happen but there are a multitude of reasons that this could happen.

DW and I have been fully vaxxed and have had "full strength" boosters and have taken several of the Binax at home tests and no positive results.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/testing/self-testing.html

Well, thanks. I have done my research on it and then you don't know who to believe. It only makes sense since you can but the tests. Yes, there is always a possibility of a false positive.

 

[Another Reader]

I have a question. So, if you have the vaccine shot and take the Home Testing Test will it be positive because you took the shots?

I was told if you took the shot/shots the covid test will show up as positive?

The Binax antigen test reacts to the viral "N" protein, the nucleocapsid. The vaccines make you make the "S" protein, the spike, and then your immune system makes the antibodies. So no, being vaccinated would not affect the result of the Binax test.

Antibody tests may target antibodies to either the spike protein or the nucleocapsid protein. If you have been vaccinated, the test that targets the nucleocapsid protein will not react to any antibodies you have from the vaccine.

Edited to clarify.

 

[explanade]

Vaccine spike proteins dissipate after a short period. They don't remain in your system.

That's some disinformation being spread.

 

[Another Reader]

Vaccine spike proteins dissipate after a short period. They don't remain in your system.

That's some disinformation being spread.

At this point, there is some discussion about people that have some Covid-like symptoms after being vaccinated possibly not fully clearing the spike protein they made. It's a theory put forth by a few investigators at this stage. The hypothesis needs to be tested before any conclusions can be drawn.

 

[street]

The Binax antigen test reacts to the viral "N" protein, the nucleocapsid. The vaccines make you make the "S" protein, the spike, and then your immune system makes the antibodies. So no, being vaccinated would not affect the result of the Binax test.

Antibody tests may target antibodies to either the spike protein or the nucleocapsid protein. If you have been vaccinated, the test that targets the nucleocapsid protein will not react to any antibodies you have from the vaccine.

Edited to clarify.

Outstanding explanation. Thank you.

 

[audreyh1]

Well, maybe.

I also thought it was a good idea so I went to a Walmart today where the website said they were in stock.
No, they said, you have to order them online and pick it up the next day.

So I ordered them online and arranged to pick up tomorrow.
Half an hour later I got an email saying they were not available at all, sorry.

Sorry, I must have gotten yours today.

Funny, I ordered for pickup yesterday. Get there this morning and I miss the pickup location. As I’m weaving through the parking lot trying to get back to it, I get a phone call - it’s Walmart trying to figure out where I am*. I’m pulling into spot 1 right now I tell them. They come running out with my bag. Impressed. No one else at pickup spots which were at the side of the building.

* I had checked in on their app when I was heading over. I allowed my location info only when their app is running.

 

[gattara]

Well, maybe.

So I ordered them online and arranged to pick up tomorrow.
Half an hour later I got an email saying they were not available at all, sorry.

Sorry! I ordered my kit online and it will be delivered on Friday, maybe by UPS? Don't know who does their delivery. I ordered other items as well so I got free shipping.

 

[Aerides]

Yes, there is always a possibility of a false positive.

In all of the different tests (home and otherwise) false positives are quite rare. If the tests error, they are more likely to err on the side of a false negative.

Post-vaccinated folks will show antibody present-positive on an Antibody test, but not covid-positive on any "do I have it?" Covid test.

 

[braumeister]

So I ordered them online and arranged to pick up tomorrow.
Half an hour later I got an email saying they were not available at all, sorry.

Tried again today and it all worked as advertised. Same order, same store. No clue what happened yesterday, but I got the tests.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

Reported on KTLA today that the government will be reimbursing for rapid home testing in their new plan for beating Covid.

https://ktla.com/video/another-omicron-case-found-in-u-s/7199224/

 

[Alan]

Finally remembered to look at the expiration dates on our test kits. We just finished the last in a box of 7. Expiration date June 2023.

I already have another box of 7 and the date on that is August 2023.

I don't know who actually makes the tests, the leaflet says "Manufactured under contract to the Department of Health and Social Care by Xiamen Biotime" and an address in China of the company.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Reported on KTLA today that the government will be reimbursing for rapid home testing in their new plan for beating Covid.

https://ktla.com/video/another-omicron-case-found-in-u-s/7199224/

Ugh, video stories...not a fan.

Anyway, more specifically:

"One of the new elements will be requiring private health insurers to reimburse people who buy at-home tests — just as insurers are currently required to cover tests done at pharmacies and labs. This will reduce costs for more than 150 million Americans with private insurance, once the official rule is finalized and put in place in the new year."

https://www.npr.org/2021/12/02/1060...vid-plan-will-reimburse-you-for-at-home-tests

And, lots of caveats...this being a pretty big one:

The new rules don’t apply to those on Medicaid and Medicare, although that could change, and those on Medicare with private insurance may be covered.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/03/how...ome-covid-tests-promised-by-white-house-.html

 

[sengsational]

Rather than do it the most effective way (just make tests available for pickup or by mail, like the UK), the US involves insurance company overhead, and excludes uninsured I didn't watch or listen to the links, but I imagine having to mail receipts with a form to the insurance company, so, to quote a meme "ain't nobody got time for that!"

 

[audreyh1]

Yes, very annoying!

I would be fine with $3 tests that are readily available.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Rather than do it the most effective way (just make tests available for pickup or by mail, like the UK), the US involves insurance company overhead, and excludes uninsured I didn't watch or listen to the links, but I imagine having to mail receipts with a form to the insurance company, so, to quote a meme "ain't nobody got time for that!"

I agree. Nothing the USG does involves simplicity. I am *very* thankful that I can purchase the $15 tests without worrying about missing a meal or some other necessity in life. If I were to assume, a good number of those that have insurance can also afford said $15 tests.

 

[Chuckanut]

This thread raises the question for me as to how well various countries are dealing with the ongoing threat of Covid and how to manage it for many years in the future so that we can mostly go on with our lives.

I get the impressions that widely available inexpensive home testing is a key factor in managing the disease and reducing its spread. Added to that are well established protocols for what do do when you get a positive result (IOW, go to a special Covid center and not rush to crowd the hospital ER), and also better contact tracing protocols to warn others who might have been exposed.

1. Low cost home testing is easily viable
2. Contact tracing is available and generally reliable
3. Special Covid centers take the load off of Hospital ER rooms and the rest of the non-Covid medical system

That is what seems to be happening in countries that are trying to manage the disease as it becomes more endemic.

Perhaps, our non USA contingent can give us their views. I could be completely wrong.

 

[Alan]

This thread raises the question for me as to how well various countries are dealing with the ongoing threat of Covid and how to manage it for many years in the future so that we can mostly go on with our lives.

I get the impressions that widely available inexpensive home testing is a key factor in managing the disease and reducing its spread. Added to that are well established protocols for what do do when you get a positive result (IOW, go to a special Covid center and not rush to crowd the hospital ER), and also better contact tracing protocols to warn others who might have been exposed.

1. Low cost home testing is easily viable
2. Contact tracing is available and generally reliable
3. Special Covid centers take the load off of Hospital ER rooms and the rest of the non-Covid medical system

That is what seems to be happening in countries that are trying to manage the disease as it becomes more endemic.

Perhaps, our non USA contingent can give us their views. I could be completely wrong.

That about sums it up for the UK plus a very big push on boosters, reopening some mass vaccination centers, bringing the army in to assist with logistics
and increasing the fee paid to pharmacies to £15/dose administered, £20 per dose on a weekend. 34% of all folks over age 12 have now had 3 doses.

 

[Alan]

We got back from York yesterday after spending 3 days there. The previous week we had been in London and did a home Covid test a couple of days after getting back. We were planning on doing another home test tomorrow prior to my wife's sister visiting on Monday but while eating lunch in town we all got "pinged" by the Covid app. (It is a short walk into town for us)

Said we'd been in close contact with someone who'd tested positive on Wednesday while we were in York. We had driven down to York in the morning and in the afternoon went to the Jorvik center, an indoor museum. The app said that since we were fully vaccinated and had no symptoms we didn't need to self isolate but advised that we take a PCR test.

We stopped at the test centre on the walk home to make an appointment but they invited us in and we each did a PCR test. Hopefully our PCR tests will come back negative. The test centre is just 2 or 3 trailers hooked together in a parking lot, with a number of booths inside and members of the NHS Test and Trace team to direct and assist.

 

[Chuckanut]

while eating lunch in town we all got "pinged" by the Covid app. (It is a short walk into town for us)

Said we'd been in close contact with someone who'd tested positive on Wednesday while we were in York. We had driven down to York in the morning and in the afternoon went to the Jorvik center, an indoor museum. The app said that since we were fully vaccinated and had no symptoms we didn't need to self isolate but advised that we take a PCR test.

We stopped at the test centre on the walk home to make an appointment but they invited us in and we each did a PCR test. Hopefully our PCR tests will come back negative. The test centre is just 2 or 3 trailers hooked together in a parking lot, with a number of booths inside and members of the NHS Test and Trace team to direct and assist.

Thanks.

This is a great example of what the USA needs if we are going to manage the Covid Endemic and get out of the Covid Pandemic mode. My 2¢.

 

[explanade]

Americans are less likely to install contact tracing apps and enabling them.

Also, no national apps, just a patchwork of different apps by different county departments, with many counties and states not offering any apps.