Behind the high-tech COVID-19 tests you probably haven’t heard about - The Verge

While most people are familiar with rapid at-home antigen tests, Cue Health, Detect, and Lucira Health all have FDA-authorized OTC molecular tests that combine PCR accuracy with the convenience of at-home antigen tests.

When you think about getting tested for COVID-19, you’re most likely picturing two types of tests: the at-home rapid antigen tests you can buy at the drugstore and the PCR test where the results are processed by a lab. What you’re probably less familiar with are at-home molecular tests that you can buy online.

In a nutshell, these at-home molecular tests combine the accuracy of PCR tests with the convenience of antigen tests. It’s a potent combination, as it reduces the chances of a self-test delivering a false negative result. That, in turn, can help people plan with a greater degree of certainty. It’s a big reason why companies like Google provide these tests to their workers as part of return to office plans. Currently, the FDA has authorized three OTC at-home molecular tests: Cue Health, Detect, and Lucira Health. However, when I polled friends, family, and co-workers, none were aware that this was an option — and some weren’t sure about the difference between molecular and antigen tests to begin with. If these tests are so convenient and accurate, why isn’t everyone using them? How come more people haven’t heard about them?

Hint: they’re expensive. The Cue Health tests that Google gives its workers require you to buy a separate hub. That device, plus a three-pack of tests, costs $444. That number doesn’t even include extra fees to verify your results for travel. And yet, Cue, Detect, and Lucira all claim their tests are accessible for the average person. We tried all three to find out how well these tests worked, what their limitations are, and what scenarios these pricey tests might be worth shelling out for.

The Cue reader costs $249, while individual tests cost $65.

What are the different types of COVID-19 tests? There are two types of COVID-19 tests: antigen tests and molecular tests.

Antigen tests are probably the ones you’re most familiar with. They look for proteins on the surface of the virus and can deliver results in as little as 15 minutes. While you can get an antigen test from a healthcare provider, you can also buy an at-home kit from your local pharmacy. Some familiar brands include the Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen Self Test, iHealth COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test, and QuickVue At-Home OTC COVID-19 Test. These tests are affordable and convenient but aren’t as accurate as a molecular test. That’s because if you’re early on in an infection, you may get a false negative as you don’t have enough of the virus in your system yet.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/3/23141813/molecular-covid-19-test-otc-pcr-fda

---