How to spot the fake at-home COVID tests
There are plenty of legitimate, FDA-approved kits on the market, but sometimes they’re hard to find immediately
AUSTIN — Before you buy an over-the-counter COVID-19 test, how do you now if it’s the real deal?
The Federal Trade Commission issued guidance after the FDA started seeing fake or not FDA-authorized tests floating around; these were mainly tests people bought online.
Here is the commission’s guidance as well as well as how to understand the tests:
Check if the COVID-19 test is FDA-approved. These manufactures and brand names have been approved by the FDA:
• Abbott Diagnostics’ BinaxNow
• SD Biosensor’s COVID-19 AtHome Test
• Siemens’ Clinitest
• iHealth Labs’ iHealth test
• Quanterix Corp.’s Simoa
• Salofa Oy’s Sienna-Clarity
• Becton, Dickinson and Company’s BD Veritor System
• Nano-Ditech Corp.’s Nano-Check
• Access Bio’s CareStart
• inBios’ SCOV-2 Ag Detect
• GenBody Inc.’s GenBody COVID-19 Ag
• Ortho Clinical Diagnostic’s Vitros
• Phase Scientific’s Inicaid
• Quidel’s QuickVue
• OraSure Technologies’ InteliSwab
• LumiraDX UK’s LumiraDx
• Princeton BioMeditec’s Status
• Celltrion USA’s Celltrion DiaTrust
If your test isn’t one of these, toss it. Also make sure to check the expiration dates of the tests you have, even if it is on the list above.
If you buy an at-home test, you can upload your receipt to your health insurance company to get reimbursed for up to eight tests a month per person.
Here’s what to know and where to look to buy a COVID-19 at-home test:
Check out the test manufacturer. In your favorite search engine, type in the company name, the website name or the seller’s name with the word “scam,” “complaint” or “review.” That way you’ll know if other people have run into trouble with this seller or website.
Compare online reviews of the seller and the tests, but make sure those reviews are coming from known sources such as an expert organization.
Pay by credit card. If you do not receive the test or if it’s not the test you were expecting, you can call your credit card company and dispute the charges.
If you do receive a fake test or don’t receive the test, the Federal Trade Commission wants to hear about it. You can report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Which COVID-19 test should I get? The best tests available are polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests. These tests look for certain genetic material found in the virus. The test, which involves a nasal swab done by a technician or nurse, is done in a doctor’s office, hospital, pharmacy or laboratory and often the test is sent off to a lab to be read.
At times during the pandemic, people have waited more than a week to get results back from a PCR test. Now, results are usually coming back in 24 to 48 hours.
Most of the “rapid tests” available, those that promise results in as little as 15 minutes, are antigen tests. They are less sensitive than a PCR test and are looking for a specific viral antigen that implies there is an infection.
Antigen tests can be done in a doctor’s office, pharmacy, or popup testing site and the results can be read right then.
They are not as sensitive as a PCR test and might not pick up the virus.
The home tests typically are antigen tests. They vary in sensitivity, but are not as reliable as a PCR test and might not be as good as an inoffice or drive-thru antigen test. Why? Some of it is human error. Swabbing yourself might mean that you don’t go high enough in the nasal passage or stay long enough to get a good enough sample.
If I tested negative, should I believe it? PCR tests tend to be reliable. If symptoms continue, though, call your physician to see if you might want to test again or test for something else such as flu.
If you had a rapid test done at a clinic, pharmacy, drive-thru site or at-home, you can believe you have COVID-19 if you have a positive result. If you have a negative result, you cannot rule out that you don’t have COVID-19.
“You can get a false negative,” says Dr. Stanley Spinner, vice president and chief medical officer at Texas Children’s Pediatrics & Texas Children’s Urgent Care. Rapid tests are not as sensitive and may take a few days before the virus will show up on those, he says. You should continue to follow the quarantine guidelines if you’ve been exposed or have symptoms. Try to schedule a PCR test if symptoms continue.
At-home rapid tests on the FDAapproved list available through Amazon or Walmart.comcould arrive within five days. Some, though, were out of stock or would take two or more weeks to arrive.