Four Rapid COVID PCR Tests You Can Take at Home (and Why You Should Do It)
Last week I was getting ready to go on a date and since I am severely immunocompromised, we agreed that he would get tested for COVID using one of my rapid at-home PCR tests. It was a polite thing—he felt fine—but his test came back positive. The next day he was sick as a dog. And by the way, the rapid antigen test he took when he got home that evening came back negative.
No matter how big of a health risk you see in Covid, at best it’s still an inconvenience that costs you a weekend at work. A simple home PCR test saved me this inconvenience (and worse), and if I had relied on a regular rapid antigen test or done nothing at all, I would probably be sick by now.
While the world was desperately trying to get rid of COVID, this summer saw the highest incidence rate since 2022 , with a winter surge just around the corner. Nearly 300,000 people have died from COVID in the U.S. in the last three months alone, so even though the pandemic has become endemic, there are still risks to be aware of, according to the CDC. About 400 million people worldwide have long-term COVID conditions, with symptoms that can range from annoying to downright debilitating, no matter your age, pre-COVID health, or fitness level. Cases of long-term Covid infection are also destroying our medical system. The two best tools to avoid getting COVID are still masking and testing. Unfortunately, PCR testing centers that used to be available in every city have long since closed, and obtaining a PCR test has become expensive and difficult to access. This is why home testing kits are so important.
While you may be used to thinking of COVID tests as interchangeable, there is a big difference between a standard at-home antigen test and a PCR (molecular) test. Almost five years later, it’s important to understand why you need PCR tests when accurate testing is important.
Difference between PCR and rapid antigen test
What you typically think of as a home COVID test (like the one you can order for free from the government ) is a rapid antigen test. When these at-home COVID tests became available, they became a powerful tool to help people know they were positive and isolate themselves from others. Almost all of the at-home tests were lateral flow tests, also known as rapid antigen tests (RATs). They measure the presence of proteins on the outside of SARS-C0V-2, but they have a serious drawback: they can only detect active virus. If you have no symptoms or do not yet have a high viral load, the RAT may show negative results even though you have an active and contagious infection.
This is why, if you already have symptoms, a negative antigen test is not conclusive. You may need to be tested several times to confirm that you have COVID. When you first get sick, you can go several days ( up to five ) without enough virus to test positive in rats. RATs were designed to be administered multiple times in a sequential manner.
PCR, also known as a NAAT or molecular test, measures RNA and can detect even small amounts of the virus. This is why it has always been considered the “gold standard” for COVID testing. These tests are generally considered accurate starting one to three days before symptoms appear. Until last year, you had to get a PCR test at a testing center, but at-home tests have evolved and there are now four rapid at-home molecular COVID tests, meaning you take the test and get a result within 30 minutes.
Why We Still Need COVID Testing
The world is now divided between people who view COVID as part of everyday life, and those who, due to chronic diseases, immune problems, previous infections or age, cannot afford to become infected. For a long time, we thought of COVID testing as something you did for your own health, but at-home PCR testing is a way to easily protect the vulnerable people in your life without isolating them from society.
But even if you don’t worry about others, you should still take care to protect yourself from multiple infections. While your likelihood of dying from COVID has dropped dramatically thanks to vaccines, medical interventions, and natural immunity from infection, the news hasn’t been very good about long COVID. As people get infected two, three, four or more times, they play against the odds. It’s estimated that one in 10 — or even one in five —infections results in long-term COVID illness, and to explain how it’s not “just the flu,” COVID is now considered a vascular disease . This means that it affects the blood vessels in your body that run everywhere. Thinking of COVID as a vascular disease helps explain why long COVID is everything from severe fatigue to migraines, numbness in the extremities, loss of smell and taste, extreme fatigue, and neurological and cardiovascular diseases.
While many people don’t even get tested to see if they have COVID anymore, there are several reasons to get a definitive answer. First, you can only receive the Paxlovid intervention for the first five days after symptoms appear. Antiviral drugs like Paxlovid reduce viral load, which is one of the things we think helps prevent long-term COVID . Second, no one knows who will get long COVID, and you may need proof of that positive test in the future for insurance, benefits, or even to justify sick days.
Finally, you need to get tested because it is difficult to determine if you have COVID. COVID symptoms include headache, body aches, fever, runny nose, nasal congestion, fatigue, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea and loss of smell or taste. In other words, absolutely nothing unusual. While the RAT is unreliable for safely interacting with people for the reasons described above, a molecular test can be fairly reliable in clearing someone to come into your home that day or be in your immediate vicinity. So these molecular tests could be a tool to help the immune-compromised return to the world and make multi-generational celebrations safer.
How to take a molecular/PCR test
Outside of home, your main options right now are urgent care clinics and places that provide pre-travel testing. In both cases they will be expensive. In an emergency, you will be placed in the same room with all the sick people, who now no longer need to wear a mask in medical settings, so if you don’t already have COVID, you can become infected there. . Luckily, there are molecular tests (PCR quality) that you can take at home.
Rapid molecular tests require the same effort from you as the RAT test. You will take a swab yourself and then insert that swab into a machine that will give you the result. There are currently only four brands of these tests available: Lucira , Metrix, 3EO and PlusLife . Unlike RAT tests, they must be ordered, although Metrix and Lucira tests are available on Amazon, and Walgreens sells Lucira tests in some stores. For a long time they were too expensive for most people, so they were relegated to film sets, law firms and Google employees. Prices have come down so they are now more affordable at just $10 per test. Here are your options.
Lucira Check It A&B COVID-19/Flu Test
Cost: $39.99 for one-time test. Availability: Amazon and Walgreens. Accuracy of positive samples: 97%. Accuracy of negative samples: 99%. Pros: One of the big advantages of the Lucira test is that the concentrator is disposable (unfortunately, it is intended for one use) and comes with the test. This is an ideal test for groups as everyone can take their own test at the same time. At the same time, you also do a flu test. Cons: The downside is that the specificity and sensitivity (accuracy) are lower than other tests, and at $39.99, Lucira is more expensive than other tests.
Lucira was one of the first at-home molecular tests, and last year it was converted into a combination test so you can be tested for the flu at the same time. Lucira is one of the easiest tests to use, requiring just a few steps. First, you insert the batteries into the testing center, which is disposable. (The test comes with batteries, but it is important that you insert the batteries immediately before starting the test, otherwise the test will fail.) Like all other tests, Lucira has a swab that you use to swab the sample by rotating it. into your nose, and then place the swab in the bottle of liquid and swirl it around. Remove the cap, snap the cap onto the bottle, and wait 30 minutes for the indicators on the front to indicate whether you have tested positive or negative.
Aptitude Metrix COVID-19 Test and Reader
Cost: $24.99 per test, one-time cost for reusable reader: $49.99. Availability: Amazon (test in stock, reader out of stock) and Aptitude website Accuracy of positive samples: 97% Accuracy of negative samples: 99% Pros: Reliable test with very high accuracy rates, often available with two-day shipping from Amazon for replenishment of stocks. Cons: Connecting the dough pieces together may be difficult for people with mobility issues or arthritis. Only one person can be tested at a time at 30-minute intervals; the reader needs power.
Metrix tests come in two parts: a reusable hub that you buy separately, and a test that you insert into the hub. There is also a swab that you use to take a sample from your nose and then insert it into a plastic piece, breaking off the end of the swab. You connect the plastic part to the fluid compartment, locking them together. These parts are then connected to the test slide, connected again, and then the whole thing is loaded into the hub, which must be connected to a power source while in use. In just 30 minutes you will have results.
Technically, you can use the Metrix test with saliva rather than a nasal swab, but the test’s accuracy drops dramatically, and the majority of reported errors with this test come from using it with saliva.
3EO COVID-19 test
Cost: $195 for a reusable reader and 2 tests; additional tests cost $20 each. Availability: 3EO Website Accuracy of Positive Samples: 95% Accuracy of Negative Samples: 100% Pros: Probably the easiest test to do yourself if you have mobility issues or arthritis; about the same high accuracy as Metrix and PlusLife. Cons: Available only from the manufacturer, you cannot buy the reader separately, it costs more than other readers. The reader requires power and can only test one person at a time at 30-minute intervals.
3EO uses a reader like many other tests, but has fewer parts and steps. You swab your nose with a much shorter, more convenient swab, place the swab in a small bottle, and then insert the bottle into the reader and press it until you hear a click. Press the button on the reader and wait 30 minutes to receive the result.
PlusLife Test for COVID-19
Cost: $310 for reusable reader; tests are purchased in packs of 10 for $79.20. Discounts for people with weakened immune systems. Availability: Altruan Website Accuracy of Positive Samples: 99% Accuracy of Negative Samples: 100% Pros: Test payback under $10 or less, most affordable and long-lasting option. High level of accuracy. The Reader can connect to a website and get very detailed results in real time. Cons: Available only through Altruan, has not applied for or received approval in the US. Although the costs are amortized over time, running a hub is very expensive. One of the most difficult testing processes. Only one person can test at a time (a much more expensive eight-person reader is available). The reader requires power.
It may seem strange to talk about a test that needs to be bought in Europe, with an expensive reader, and a testing process that I just described as complex. However, due to the accuracy of the test, the ability to check results against a website, and the lower cost (if you buy a hub and a bunch of tests, even with shipping, the cost per test will still be less than $10), PlusLife offers has gained a large following in the US and is popular among people who need to get tested frequently. European countries have been much more careful about distributing tests and reducing the cost of tests, so while it is not technically approved in the US, it is approved for use throughout Europe, can be imported, and has been used in a number of countries. Research conducted in the USA.
To use the test, you place a plastic card with a screw cap in the docking station, and a vial of liquid next to it. You take a sample with a swab as with other tests, insert the swab into the liquid, and then remove the swab. You screw the dropper cap onto the bottle and then carefully fill the card, but you have to be precise – there are two small lines to fill in between. You then screw the cap onto the card, push the cap down, shake the card, and finally insert the card into the reader. You can then connect to the corresponding website via Bluetooth or USB cable via your phone or laptop and watch the results display in real time.