To confirm if you have COVID-19, you must be tested for the virus. While researchers are constantly learning and developing new ways to test for the disease, there are a few types of tests being used currently. Discover more about these types of tests, including how they’re conducted, what affects test accuracy, and the steps of testing results.*

What types of tests are available?

The two types of tests include:

• A diagnostic test shows if you have an active COVID-19, which would warrant you to quarantine or isolate yourself from others. Within the diagnostic tests, there are two types: a molecular test (detects the virus’s genetic material) and an antigen test (detects specific proteins from the virus).
• An antibody test finds antibodies in your blood. Antibodies are made by your immune system to help fight infections. They may take several days or weeks to develop and may stay in your blood for several weeks after the infection is gone. Therefore, this test should not be used to diagnose COVID-19. 

How are these diagnostic tests conducted?

There are four ways to have a diagnostic test completed:

• Rapid, point-of-care tests involve collecting a mucus sample from the nose or throat, which can be analyzed and resulted in minutes at the doctor’s office. 
• A combination test can check for the flu, coronavirus, and potentially other respiratory viruses all at once. 
• At-home collection tests allow for social distancing. While it must be prescribed by a physician, a patient may collect the sample at home (with possible video oversight by the doctor) and send it directly to the lab to analyze. 
• Saliva tests allow a patient to spit into a tube rather than get their nose or throat swabbed. 

What are the steps for molecular testing?

Since molecular testing is currently the most accurate, many doctors recommend it first to patients with COVID-19 related symptoms. 

The steps to molecular testing include:

1. You must receive a COVID-19 test prescription or order by a doctor or other licensed healthcare professional.
2. Done by either the patient or healthcare professional, a specialized swab is used to gather mucus from either nose or throat. It is then placed in a sterilized container and sealed before transport to a lab.
3. During shipping, the sample swab must be kept in a certain temperature range and arrive at the lab within 72 hours.
4. After arrival and multiple processing techniques by the technicians, a machine can detect “positive” COVID-19 cases when a special kind of light is produced and seen by the machine. 

How has access to testing improved?

As the need for more testing and quick results increases, researchers have discovered ways to help lab technicians be more effective. Through a method called “pooling,” several people’s swabs can be done together at once. 

This method works by combining several people’s genetic material from their swabs and testing them together. If the test shows “negative” results, none of those people are likely to have an active coronavirus infection. On the other hand, if this test showed “positive” results, each person’s genetic material would need to be tested individually. 

What can affect testing results?

No test is 100% accurate all of the time. Things that may affect accuracy include:

• The swab may not have been collected in the throat or nose.
• The swab sample may have been contaminated during collection or analysis or kept at the incorrect temperature. 
• The chemicals used during lab test processing may not have worked correctly.

*U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2021, Apr. 7). Coronavirus Disease 2019 Testing Basics. https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/coronavirus-disease-2019-testing-basics

Much about the novel coronavirus, i.e., COVID-19, is still not fully understood. As research progresses and our knowledge of the virus increases, information can change rapidly. We strive to update all of our articles as quickly as possible, but there may occasionally be some lag between scientific developments and our revisions.