Rapid antigen test kits are free and available at most pharmacies and grocery stores throughout Ontario. Many people who take the tests have similar reasons for doing so – such as children at school, visiting elderly family members and making sure they are COVID-19 free before traveling. The test only takes about 15 minutes and is seemingly simple to get results. However, the reality is that they are not so perfect, most rapid tests detect the virus in about 70 percent of cases. “We give a lot of kits for people to try at home,” says pharmacist Jordan Clark, owner of Westboro Shoppers Drug Mart. “You want to make sure you take the time to set up the test correctly and, most importantly, that you are doing the test correctly, whether you are testing yourself, a loved one or especially a child.” Clark has probably done thousands of tests throughout the pandemic. He says that before Omicron, rapid tests were mainly used on the nostrils. But some of the younger strains live in the throat and tonsils. To perform the best test, install the test kit, read the instructions and do not rush. Clark says start with the mouth and dab on the inside of both cheeks for five seconds each, followed by another five-second swab on the back of the neck and tonsils – and rotate the swab around. Proceed to both nostrils, five seconds each, and the perimeter is not enough. So how deep? “You want to go as deep as you can until you feel some resistance and then a little more push, so it should be a little uncomfortable,” says Clark. Insert the swab into the test tube with the solution and push it to the side. Leave it there for the recommended amount of time, the liquid breaks down the particles to extract the COVID antigens. Add the recommended number of drops to the test strip and wait 15 full minutes. Depending on your virus load, the effect may be faint. If the test is positive, it is very unlikely to be wrong. “The other thing that matters is the frequency of the tests,” says Clark. “So not just one test, but doing a test three, four, five times a week is a better chance of getting a positive case if you’re positive.” Why do some people become COVID negative when they have symptoms? Infectious disease epidemiologist Colin Furness says it has to do with a person’s vaccination status. “If you are vaccinated, you start showing symptoms as soon as you are exposed too soon, because your body responds immediately because your body recognizes the virus immediately,” says Furness. “So you are not very contagious though and you show symptoms because your vaccinated body fights it faster and you are done with your symptoms, but the virus is still rejected and you end up being contagious after your symptoms not during.” Furness adds that unvaccinated individuals are more likely to test positive at the onset of symptoms and it is important to note that if a test comes back positive, as opposed to PCR or molecular testing, you may be contagious. “The advice we got from public health is that after five days of symptoms you can go back to work, which is actually designed to infect people. “It does not protect people, it is a terrible idea,” he said. “If you are vaccinated, you really want ten days from the onset of the infection to the moment you start exhaling in front of other people because of this infectious period after the symptoms are over.” If you are feeling unwell, sick or positive, most doctors will say that the best result is just to stay home.
