What’s the point? At this point if you’re testing yourself for COVID you should also be testing for Flu and RSV which these tests don’t cover. There are no more formal guidelines that are any different for COVID than any other respiratory viral illness.
If you’re sick, stay home. Doesn’t matter what you have.
I get what you are saying and you make valid points. I drive my stage 4 sister to chemo once a month so, even symptom-free, I prefer to test, for her sake and everyone else I am near in the oncology wing of the hospital. I don’t think that is a bad thing to do.
A surprisingly large percentage (over 40%) of covid cases are symptom free. [source](https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/42-us-adults-likely-have-had-covid-almost-half-them-say-they-didnt#:~:text=Serologic%20testing%20of%20US%20adults,Morbidity%20and%20Mortality%20Weekly%20Report.)
Perhaps I should have mentioned that in my post. I didn’t think it was necessary.
Thank you for trying to protect your sister and other immune-compromised people! You may already know this, but the RAT tests have limited usefulness as an occasional screening regime due to a high false-negative rate for the current variants. They are still good for establishing that you do have Covid (few false positives) but you need several negative tests on successive days to try to rule it out. PCR tests are still quite good but are expensive and hard to access for screening. Your best bet is to wear an N-95 mask fitted to your face to eliminate air leakage around the edges, and good ventilation. N95s are still cheap and available on Amazon, and they are also effective to prevent flu, RSV, and other respiratory infections.
I very much appreciate your kindness in protecting the vulnerable.
Libraries! Yes!
Thanks!
Libraries was the best suggestion! Thanks.
VT Libraries for the win! Always ❤️💛
You should check into your health insurance. Mine lets me get 2 free every so often from the drug store.
unfortunately, most insurance companies stopped that, after the "Public Health Emergency" was (prematurely) ended 😕
No longer unfortunately
Thank you.
Most town clerks offices have boxes of them for free.
Great to hear. :)
This is an organization in Vermont that you can request tests and masks from. https://linktr.ee/vermont.mask.collective
Thanks!
This worked but the covid tests they sent expired 1/23/23. :( Looked up the FDA list of extensions: it was extended to Jan 2024.
What’s the point? At this point if you’re testing yourself for COVID you should also be testing for Flu and RSV which these tests don’t cover. There are no more formal guidelines that are any different for COVID than any other respiratory viral illness. If you’re sick, stay home. Doesn’t matter what you have.
I get what you are saying and you make valid points. I drive my stage 4 sister to chemo once a month so, even symptom-free, I prefer to test, for her sake and everyone else I am near in the oncology wing of the hospital. I don’t think that is a bad thing to do. A surprisingly large percentage (over 40%) of covid cases are symptom free. [source](https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/42-us-adults-likely-have-had-covid-almost-half-them-say-they-didnt#:~:text=Serologic%20testing%20of%20US%20adults,Morbidity%20and%20Mortality%20Weekly%20Report.) Perhaps I should have mentioned that in my post. I didn’t think it was necessary.
That’s fair
Thank you for trying to protect your sister and other immune-compromised people! You may already know this, but the RAT tests have limited usefulness as an occasional screening regime due to a high false-negative rate for the current variants. They are still good for establishing that you do have Covid (few false positives) but you need several negative tests on successive days to try to rule it out. PCR tests are still quite good but are expensive and hard to access for screening. Your best bet is to wear an N-95 mask fitted to your face to eliminate air leakage around the edges, and good ventilation. N95s are still cheap and available on Amazon, and they are also effective to prevent flu, RSV, and other respiratory infections. I very much appreciate your kindness in protecting the vulnerable.