![]() "These tests are reliable for diagnosis in someone with symptoms. "These kits detect proteins or antigens from the outer part of the Sars-CoV-2 virus and are essentially a home version of the antigen tests used in clinics," Dr. ![]() A PCR test is less likely to give a false negative for someone who has no symptoms, and it's also the only type of test approved for children under 2.īut there are a lot of advantages to using a rapid at-home test kit. Scott says of the slower test type, which must be processed in a lab. "The gold standard for testing is the molecular PCR test, which is the most sensitive, specific, and reliable for symptomatic or asymptomatic patients," Dr. What Should I Look for in a COVID Test for Kids? Scott explains that exposure is still defined as "being within 6 feet for a cumulative time of at least 15 minutes over a 24-hour period to an individual with a confirmed or probable Sars-CoV-2 case from two days prior to the onset of symptoms until that person isolates." But she also adds that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines exposure for students in classrooms as within 3 feet for at least 15 minutes (cumulative over 24 hours) of an infected person or within 6 feet if at least one party (either the infected or uninfected person) was unmasked or incorrectly wearing their mask. "Testing can also be done prior to an indoor group gathering, for travel purposes, or after a high-risk activity such as being in a crowd, but testing should be done for a specific reason, not to monitor randomly."ĭr. "The purpose of the test is primarily for testing after exposure or for someone with symptoms," Dr. When Should I Give My Child an At-Home COVID Test?Įven if testing kits are free and readily available, you don't need to be swabbing your kids all that frequently without cause, Denise Scott, MD, an Oklahoma-based pediatrician with JustAnswer, tells Parents. But first, you may still have some more questions. If that's the case, you should be able to buy any of the kits listed below, all of which have been given Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the Food and Drug Administration. But according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, most insurance companies are instead asking customers to buy kits on their own and submit receipts for reimbursement. Since President Joe Biden mandated that private insurers must cover at-home COVID tests, you should check your plan's website to see if it covers kits directly when you buy them at a preferred pharmacy. At the moment, that choice may be out of your hands, instead determined by whether there are any rapid tests available at local or online pharmacies.
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