Advice on using rapid COVID-19 tests

At-home COVID-19 tests can be a helpful layer of protection in anyone’s COVID-19 prevention plan. Previously in short supply, availability of rapid tests is improving.

Gillian Ice, special assistant to the president for public health operations, offers the following advice for using rapid COVID-19 tests.

Useful tools with pros and cons

Rapid COVID-19 tests have some clear upsides: you can take them at home, results are available quickly (usually 15 minutes), and they are moderately to highly accurate at detecting the virus if used correctly while an individual is most contagious. On the other hand, they are not as sensitive as PCR tests (like those at Vault Health and CVS), which can detect lower viral loads, so they are prone to false negatives.

Rapid test results are reliable during a short window: “Someone could test negative early in the course of an infection with a rapid test and the next day and get a positive result, as viral load increases” Ice explains.  

How OHIO community members can use rapid tests

Rapid tests can be a helpful supplement for OHIO students, faculty, and staff who want to test to protect others. Although OHIO community members are welcome to test at Vault Health or CVS to check their health, a rapid self-test at home is a convenient tool to use before going to a large or indoor gathering or when visiting high risk individuals.

“Checking at home when you otherwise feel well is an added layer of protection you can provide to those around you, so that you don’t unknowingly pass the virus if you have an asymptomatic infection; while it doesn’t eliminate risk, it does reduce it,” Ice says.

Students, faculty, and staff also may wish to keep rapid tests on hand for any travel requirements.

OHIO students, faculty, and staff who experience COVID-19 symptoms or who are exposed to the virus are expected to follow the OHIO COVID-19 protocol rather than use a rapid self-test at home. The protocol will include a COVID Campus Liaison (CCL) advising where they should test (either with a health care provider or at an on-campus testing center) based on symptoms or exposure. 

“Medical providers and our on-campus testing centers have much more accurate tests that can help us most effectively manage disease while transmission is high,” Ice explains.

On regional campuses, rapid tests are an option for students, faculty, and staff who need to test to leave quarantine, since the University does not have another rapid testing option on those campuses (individuals on the Athens campus will do a rapid test at CVS). 

Important: Individuals who are required to test weekly because they are on the Weekly Testing Pathway or because they belong to any of the groups President Hugh Sherman announced must test weekly must complete those required tests through Vault Health.

Rapid tests for non-OHIO community members

“Although OHIO students, faculty, and staff have ready access to highly accurate PCR tests through Vault Health and CVS, not everyone does,” Ice says. Rapid tests are helpful for family members, friends and others who are experiencing symptoms, who may have been exposed, or who want to check health status.

Private health insurance reimburses the costs of purchasing self-tests. OHIO faculty and staff who are enrolled in the University’s PPO plans have two options for covering the costs of tests, up to eight tests per month per covered family member, which makes it affordable to keep tests on hand for loved ones.

How to interpret test results

Any OHIO student, faculty, or staff member who tests positive on any kind of COVID-19 test should follow all the steps in the OHIO COVID-19 Protocol, which will include isolation. Non-OHIO affiliates who test positive should follow isolation instructions.

“Because rapid tests are not sensitive enough to catch every infection, a negative test result may warrant further testing depending on the situation,” according to Ice:

• Any OHIO student, faculty, or staff member with a negative rapid test result who is experiencing symptoms or who has had a known exposure should follow the OHIO COVID-19 Protocol. A CCL will advise on next steps.
• Other individuals with symptoms or a known exposure who test negative on a rapid test should proceed with caution: options to consider include another rapid test 24 hours later, contacting a primary care provider for advice, and masking and maintaining distance from others in the meantime. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer guidelines for using self-tests and interpreting the results.

How to get rapid tests

Rapid COVID-19 tests are available from a variety of sources:

• At pharmacies and other retailers, both in-store and online.
  • OHIO faculty and staff who are enrolled in the University’s PPO plans have two options for covering the costs of at-home COVID-19 tests, up to eight tests per month per covered family member.
  • Individuals covered by Medicaid also can get tests for free.
  • Medicare will begin covering tests in early spring.
• Free from the U.S. government. Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order four free at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests. 
• The University has limited supplies of rapid tests that it provides to students, faculty, and staff on regional campuses and for individuals participating in activities that require testing more than once per week. For more information, contact COVIDoperations@ohio.edu.

Reporting rapid results to Ohio University

One of the most readily available rapid tests is the BinaxNOW self test. These tests are available from pharmacies and retailers and sometimes are available free of charge from community organizations through federal and state distribution programs. The University expects students, faculty, and staff who use BinaxNOW antigen self-tests to submit their test results to the University via the NAVICA app.