(CNN) – Getting a home test for COVID-19 infection may be more convenient than going to a clinic or lab, but from a public health standpoint, experts say there is at least one key drawback.
With the recent increased demand for home tests and the increase in the positivity rate, “it is clear that we are underreporting (COVID-19 cases),” says Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.
In the United States, positive results from COVID-19 tests administered by medical professionals are ultimately communicated to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But there is no requirement for people to report the results of their home tests to healthcare providers or local public health departments.
The coronavirus self testsAlso known as home or over-the-counter tests, they detect current coronavirus infections, not antibodies to the virus, and can be easily and quickly performed at home or elsewhere, regardless of your vaccination status, the CDC says. Most self-tests are rapid antigen tests, which may be less sensitive than PCR tests performed in clinics or laboratories. Some home tests are PCR, but antigen versions are much more common and accessible.
Ideally, report positive results to both your provider and the local Health Department for a number of reasons, Benjamin said. For one thing, he explained, if you get a positive result, your healthcare provider might need to intervene with treatments like monoclonal or antiviral antibodies to mitigate your symptoms, depending on your COVID-19 vaccination or health status.
“Second, of course, it helps us better track our case counts, more accurate counts,” Benjamin said. “With all the home tests that are done, we really don’t have a good number of case counts.”
Reporting positive test results to the local public health department helps experts learn about the prevalence of a new disease in different communities, he added.
“The presence of the disease is an earlier indicator than hospitalizations and can help us predict the needs of workers, of personnel for hospitals,” he added. “If you know you have a community that hasn’t had a lot of infections and all of a sudden you see it grow, then you can usually predict that two or three weeks from then, they will register more cases in the hospital (and) tragically, also deaths. “.
Knowing the positive results of home tests can also help public health experts better understand how vaccines against the virus behave, and what activities can be especially risky for contracting COVID-19, said Dr. Jonathan Golob, an associate professor of internal medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Michigan.
Knowledge of all of these factors influences the recommendations of health experts, Benjamin said, including guidance on safety precautions and closures, mask-wearing mandates, and how the disease affects women differently. people depending on their vaccination status.
“The best way to answer all these critical questions we all have about the pandemic is by reporting COVID-19 cases to public health experts,” Golob said by email. “The people in your local public health departments are adept at using case reports to figure out the answers to these questions, working hand-in-hand with other scientists and physicians to make use of case reports to adjust treatments, orientation and planning “.
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If your COVID-19 test result is positive, inform your GP by phone or email, Benjamin and Golob recommended. Some doctors will report the results to the local public health department, but they may not, so you should also report it to the health department, Benjamin said. Ultimately, if both you and your doctor report the positive case to the health department, the health department should have enough information to avoid duplicate details, he added.
Before contacting medical professionals, have some key details at hand, Benjamin and Golob advised, including the type of test performed (rapid or regular antigen or PCR); when it was done; when the symptoms started, if any; your vaccination status, what vaccination you received, when were the doses and if you have received a booster vaccination; any details about the over-the-counter medications you have taken to treat your symptoms; and the names of the people and places you came into contact with in the days leading up to the test result.
Some public health departments have applications or web tools for self-assessment, such as this online form for Ohio residents. And some self-tests, like the BinaxNOW home test, have the option of having trained telehealth providers perform the test and send the result to both the patient and the relevant public health authorities.
As experts in contact tracing, public health offices can help you figure out who else needs to know, as well as contact them in some cases, Golob said. The public health office will not share your name with recent contacts. It will only inform them of your potential or ultimate exposure, according to the CDC. Also, during contact tracing, health department staff will not ask you for money, social security numbers, or bank, credit card, or salary information.
If you decide to inform your close contacts yourself, tell them that they could have been exposed to the coronavirus, since, according to the CDC, a person with covid-19 can begin to spread it 48 hours before symptoms appear or the result of the test is positive.
“It’s not that everyone is going to get sick, but it can help people follow the suggestions of what to do after close exposure to COVID-19,” Golob said. “If you were in a place like a school or a workplace, it was probably wise to inform them as well and let them help you notify others of the possible exposure.”
The CDC also has a worksheet to help you determine what constitutes close contact. If you prefer to report anonymously to your close contacts, there is a online tool for it, endorsed by the CDC.
When it is useful to report negative results
If you are fully vaccinated and have recently been exposed to someone with COVID-19, you should get tested five to seven days after exposure, the CDC says.
If you are not vaccinated and find out that you are a close contact, get tested immediately. Exposed and unvaccinated people who test negative should be retested five to seven days after their last exposure or immediately if symptoms appear, according to the CDC.
If the test is negative, or the result is invalid, but you are concerned or are experiencing symptoms, talk to your doctor about whether they want to see you in person or have a PCR test to confirm if you have COVID-19 or another infection, Benjamin said.
“If you are exposed to COVID, a negative test can be really helpful, especially between three and five days after exposure. A negative test at that time (or better yet, two tests taken at least 24 hours apart) can assure places like work or school that you are less likely to infect others, “Golob said by email. “A negative rapid home antigen test taken just before a meeting can help reassure everyone involved that you are not spreading a lot of virus at that time.”
“Like vaccines, masks, antibody treatments, and antiviral drugs, covid-19 testing is an incredible invention to help all of us fight the virus,” Golob said. “After two years I am, like most of you, ready to get back to making a living. I am vaccinated and boosted. I wear a mask in public. I use covid-19 tests (including rapid home antigen tests) before to visit other people. All these tools help me to come back to life. “
– CNN’s Jen Christensen and Jamie Gumbrecht contributed to this report.
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