- antigen tests aren't free in the US any more, and nobody reported positives on them even when they were
- as of the middle of last year antigen tests only had a 63% true positive rate against omicron variants (78% against symptomatic cases, which is still not great) and that probably hasn't gone up
- you can't get a PCR test without a prescription now so basically the only people showing up in public test positivity statistics are being hospitalized
if you're in seattle, you want to hit up https://doh.wa.gov/emergencies/covid-19/data-dashboard#WasteWater and set the code of the water treatment plant to BWT (the Brightwater treatment plant, up in Bothell)
Make sure you're doing throat and nasal swabbing when taking rapid test because even against omicron, this study shows above 80% positivity testing, when the rapid test is done with nose and throat swabbing.
A few "yeah buts" about this study:
- Yes, rapid tests were administered by the lab/study techs, so that eliminates some degree of human error
- Yes, this was just about one specific brand of rapid tests that not everyone has access to.
- Yes, it was published last year.
Despite these points, I do think rapid tests are still worth the effort if you have access to them and/or means to buy them. I feel as though people didn't switch to nasal/throat swabbing and have gotten the messaging that "rapid tests don't work" and have stopped entirely. I think that's a mistake!
Here's a 3 minute, clear video, on how to throat and nose swab when taking a rapid test
Also, masking. Please mask. I don't have that research link handy but there is research that very clearly shows anything less effective than a KN95 is just a snot rag and is not really helping against COVID. I know masks are expensive (although did you know you can reuse those heavier duty masks until the elastic has stretched too far to make a seal? Not single use!). If you have any local orgs to try and leverage to get some masks if you can't buy any, I think it's really worth seeking out!
