The main kinds of tests for COVID-19 are antigen tests (rapid or at-home tests) and nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT or PCR tests).

Antigen tests look for specific viral proteins that indicate COVID infection. You can buy antigen tests in pharmacies or online. Test kits contain everything you need to collect a sample from your nose or mouth and to do the test yourself. They usually produce results in 15-30 minutes. Antigen tests may not detect COVID-19 early in a person’s infection. It’s important to know that while a single negative antigen test doesn’t rule out infection, a positive test result means you likely have COVID. A person who has a negative antigen test but is experiencing symptoms should consider staying home or masking when around other people, especially those at increased risk of severe illness, such as Elders or immunocompromised people, or contacting your healthcare provider. NAAT or PCR tests are performed in a lab. They are more accurate, but they are usually more expensive and take longer for results to come back. These tests detect viral DNA and are the most reliable for individuals without symptoms.