this post was submitted on 30 Jan 2025
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RATs (rapid antigen tests) have a 40% false negative. So you may need to run several of them to get an accurate positive result. Nucleic Acid tests like PlusLife are far more sensitive, and so more suited to early detection, tho’ less available in the US. PCR is, of course the ‘gold standard’, but results are dependent on CT (cycle threshold numbers). A PCR that is (+) with a low CT is pretty definitive. A proper lab or doctors office with the right equipment is your best test approach.
Dirt_Owl is Australian, if I’m not mistaken. So maybe they have a better infrastructure but they probably still have to pay it themself and PCR test are pretty expensive.
That’s very good to know. But the false positive rate is very low. So when you have a positive result, you most likely have it, which is valuable information.
Yes, one can rely on the (+), but not so much with a single (-), especially with symptoms. However the asymptomatic rate is also not insignificant. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8672238/