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At-home over-the-counter (OTC) COVID-19 antigen tests, often referred to as rapid tests, detect proteins called antigens from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. At-home COVID-19 antigen tests are less likely to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus than molecular tests, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and other nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), which detect genetic material called RNA from the virus. This is especially true early in an infection or in people who do not have COVID-19 symptoms. Currently, all at-home COVID-19 antigen tests that are FDA-authorized are authorized for repeat testing, also called serial testing. This means people who receive a negative test result should use multiple tests over a certain period, testing at least twice over three days if they have symptoms and at least three times over five days if they do not have symptoms.
Most FDA-authorized at-home OTC COVID-19 tests are antigen tests. While not perfect, they provide a fast and convenient COVID-19 testing option to detect the virus, so you may know if you are infected and should stay at home and away from people to help reduce the spread of the virus.
In addition to COVID-19 test results, and when determining the likelihood of having the virus, consider:
See more information about negative test results from at-home COVID-19 antigen test and repeat testing below.
Watch: CDC | How To Interpret Self-Test Results
The FDA encourages you to voluntarily and anonymously report your positive or negative test results every time you use an at-home COVID-19 test. You can send your test result to MakeMyTestCount.org or use an app or other digital option for self-reporting that may be included with your test. Report each test result one time.
The data from MakeMyTestCount.org can help public health departments know how fast the virus is spreading. This valuable test data help public health departments assess and modify their response to COVID-19 in their local communities, states, or across the country. The MakeMyTestCount website is developed through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Tech program and allows consumers to anonymously report their test results from OTC at-home COVID-19 test.
Understand WHY you should test
Find out WHERE to get at-home tests
Know HOW to use an at-home test
Follow the recommendations on WHAT to do if your test result is positive or negative
Report your test result to MakeMyTestCount.org
When you are exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19, it may get into your nose, throat, and lungs (which make up your respiratory tract) and cause an infection. You may never develop symptoms of an infection or you may not have symptoms for several days after you are exposed to the virus, despite being infected. You could still pass the virus to others, even if you do not feel sick.
The amount of virus in an infected person's body may vary in different people, as well as at different times during the infection. There may also be differences in whether, or how easily, the virus can spread to another person throughout the course of the infection. Generally, the amount of virus in a person will start low, increase, then decrease again as a result of the body's immune response. The pattern of this increase and decrease, as well as the level of virus, varies from person to person, and there is no known level above which you can spread the virus and below which you cannot.
To prevent spreading COVID-19 to others, always follow the CDC's recommendations.
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