HealthDay Reports: More Evidence Do-It-Yourself COVID Tests Work Fine, Without the Discomfort
New studies find at-home COVID-19 swab tests people can perform themselves are much more comfortable and work just as well as the nasopharyngeal swab tests that healthcare workers perform.
More Evidence Do-It-Yourself COVID Tests Work Fine, Without the Discomfort
FRIDAY, June 12, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Most Americans have winced watching one of those nurse-administered COVID-19 nasal swab tests, where the swab reaches painfully farther up the nose than anyone would want.
Well, the days of "nasopharyngeal" swab tests, administered only by health care workers, may be drawing to a close: New studies find a much more comfortable swab test, performed by patients themselves, works just as well.
One new study of 30 volunteers was conducted by researchers at Stanford University in California. It found near-100% concordance between COVID-19 test results from patient-administered swab tests to the lower nasal passage and the more onerous nurse-delivered test much farther up the nose.