Coronavirus Tests: What types are there and how are they different?

As the Dayton area and state see another surge of COVID-19 cases after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, people may be looking to get tested after being exposed to a person with COVID-19.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists three different coronavirus tests that are used to diagnosis patients:

• Molecular Test: A diagnostic and viral test that uses a nasal or throat swab in most cases, however saliva samples are taken in some situations. A PCR test falls into this category. The results can come same day for some locations or up to a week. According to the FDA, “this test is typically highly accurate and usually does not need to be repeated.” This test shows if a patient currently has coronavirus. It cannot show if you were infected with the virus in the past.
• Antigen Test: A rapid diagnostic test that uses a nasal or throat swab. Results are typically reported in an hour or less. The FDA reports, “positive results are usually highly accurate, but negative results may need to be confirmed with a molecular test.” This test diagnosis an active coronavirus infection. This type of test cannot definitively rule out active coronavirus infections, according to the FDA. “ Antigen tests are more likely to miss an active coronavirus infection compared to molecular tests,” the FDA said.
• Antibody Test: A blood or body fluid test that uses a finger stick or blood draw. Results can be reported the same day or up to three days. Sometimes a second antibody test is needed for accurate results. This test will show if you’ve had coronavirus in the past, but it cannot show whether you actively have the virus.

Miami Valley Hospital’s Associate Chief Medical Officer Dr. Roberto Colon said the molecular test is what the medical field considers the “gold standard” when it comes to coronavirus tests.

“It really should be a more specific and sensitive test than the antigen study,” Colon told News Center 7.

Colon said none of the current testing options for coronavirus are 100 percent accurate.

“This really is nothing new where we have tests that are sometimes positive and sometimes negative,” Colon said. “We see this with a lot of medical conditions, and every year with flu season.”

Cox Media Group