HealthDay Reports: Do-It-Yourself COVID Tests Work Fine, Without the Discomfort — Study
Self-administered swab samples taken from the lower nasal passage — as opposed to the nasopharyngeal swab tests done by health care workers — delivered over 90% accuracy.
Do-It-Yourself COVID Tests Work Fine, Without the Discomfort: Study
THURSDAY, June 4, 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: A new study finds a much more comfortable swab test, performed by patients themselves, works just as well.
The new study found that self-administered swab samples taken from the lower nasal passage delivered over 90% accuracy, compared to standard tests that reached into the nasopharynx (where the nasal passages connect with the mouth).