But antigen tests are “really good at telling us if we’re infectious or not,” she said during the May 17 conversation. It doesn’t tell us whether we’re contagious or not.” – Katelyn Jetelinaīoth types of tests typically use a nasal swab to collect a sample, but antigen tests look for a specific protein carried by the virus, while a PCR (or polymerase chain reaction) test tries to match the virus’ genetic material.Ī negative test result for either type of test does not ensure that you do not have COVID – it means the test did not detect it. “PCR tests just tell us if we have the virus in our system or not. Jetelina explained they are two different tools with different benefits. Why should you use an antigen test instead of a PCR test? Watch the conversation in the player above.

Jetelina, who writes the Your Local Epidemiologist newsletter about the science of the pandemic, offered some advice about the best times and ways to use this tool. “Antigen tests are one of the most underutilized tools of this pandemic,” epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina told PBS NewsHour digital anchor Nicole Ellis in a recent conversation. So what can Americans be doing now to slow or limit the spread of the virus ? And how does at-home testing fit into the picture? recently hit the grim milestone of 1 million record COVID deaths, and that number continues to climb.

Though COVID deaths haven’t yet begun to mirror the latest uptick, the U.S. With little public masking and official tests undercounting the true scale right now, people must rely on personal decision-making more than ever. Nearly half of Americans – 45 percent – are living in communities with medium or high community levels of COVID-19, particularly in the Northeast and Midwest, and experts say the real numbers are likely far higher.

The United States is once again watching coronavirus cases and hospitalizations rise as summertime nears.

Is athome camera a virus