PCR test or rapid? Here's how to decide

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What's the point of PCR tests anymore? By Jamie Ducharme Health Correspondent As a slightly neurotic person who writes about health for a living, I used to get a lot of COVID-19 PCR tests. But I haven’t had one in recent memory—not because I’ve stopped screening myself for COVID-19, but because I’ve switched to testing at home. That’s the case for lots of people. And it made me wonder what role PCR tests should play in the ongoing pandemic. The experts I interviewed said at-home tests work well for most of the average person’s testing needs, but there are still some situations when it makes sense to get a PCR test, the gold standard for diagnostic accuracy. To sum it up, in the words of laboratory medicine physician Dr. Charles Chiu, “If you want to be absolutely sure that you are not infected, you should still get a PCR test.” READ MORE   Share the story

What else to read Rock Climbing Is a Thrill. It's Also Really Good for You By Angela Haupt It exercises the brain and the body. Read More » Toxic Stress Load Is the Biggest Barrier to Living Longer. Here’s How to Reduce It By Tamen Jadad-Garcia and Dr. Alex Jadad When stressful challenges become toxic, they can have profound effects on our life expectancy, write Tamen Jadad-Garcia and Dr. Alex Jadad. Read More » How to Best Treat Underserved IBD Patients By Markham Heid Fixing care gaps is a challenge. These solutions can help. Read More » Opioid Antidote Narcan May Soon Be Sold Over the Counter By Matthew Perrone/AP A panel of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) experts voted unanimously in favor of the move, and the FDA will decide soon. Read More » The Water Crisis No One In America Is Fixing By Bryn Nelson "East Palestine joins a long list of other places in the United States facing major threats to clean water," writes Bryn Nelson. Read More »

AN EXPERT VOICE "Getting Americans used to a time when we can have some diagnostic certainty is not a bad thing. We shouldn't just accept pure treatment [without tests to confirm a diagnosis]." —Dr. Yuka Manabe, infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins Medicine, on how the pandemic proved the value of testing

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