‘I Tried an At-Home, 15-Minute COVID-19 Test. Here’s What the Experience Taught Me’
Quick and easy access to rapid COVID-19 testing felt like a pipe dream when the coronavirus pandemic first hit the U.S., but two new tests authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are now available at drugstores across the country—without a prescription.
The least expensive option is called the BinaxNOW test by Abbott, which is listed for $23.99 and promises to deliver results within 15 minutes. (The other is a test by Ellume, which is $38.99.)
“It’s an interesting concept that can have important public health benefits,” says Richard Watkins, M.D., an infectious disease physician and a professor of internal medicine at the Northeast Ohio Medical University. “Doing the test at home saves the person from having to go out, potentially infecting others.”
BinaxNOW is already on shelves across the country. After I spotted it at my local Walmart (where it was $19.99), I knew I had to try it. The experience was interesting—it’s weird to be swabbing your nose at home—but definitely convenient. Here’s what you need to know if you’re interested in rapid COVID-19 testing at home.
How does the BinaxNOW COVID rapid test work?
The BinaxNOW test is an antigen test, which means it looks for the presence of a specific viral antigen (foreign substance that sparks an immune response in the body) that suggests someone is currently infected with COVID-19.
Antigen tests are considered “relatively inexpensive,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but they’re usually less sensitive than real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which are considered the gold-standard in COVID-19 testing.
The BinaxNOW test takes a moment to figure out.
I’ll admit it: I was intimidated when I first opened the directions for the BinaxNOW test. It showed several diagrams that kind of looked like instructions on how to build a jet engine and a slew of steps that made me put off actually doing the test for another time. (To be fair, though, I have zero patience—so I don’t totally blame the test for this.)
But once I took a moment to actually do the test, it was incredibly easy. The whole thing centers around a test card and nasal swab. The test card has a window with a blue control line that will also show your results when they’re ready. It looks a bit like a pregnancy test, just in card form.
To use the test, you put six drops of a special formula in the top hole of the card. From there, you pull out the nasal swap and swirl it around the inside walls of each nostril for 15 seconds. I’ve had nasopharyngeal swab tests done in the past and, thankfully, this goes nowhere near as deep. Instead, it’s kind of like picking your nose with a Q-tip. It feels a little weird, but it’s not uncomfortable at all.
From there, you insert the swab into the test card, pull off the adhesive liner, and close the test card like a book. You then wait 15 minutes for your results.
You read the test results like a pregnancy test—two lines means you have COVID-19; one line means you don’t. A cool way to know if your test is actually working? The blue control line turns a pinkish-purple color.
Once you get your results, simply toss the test in the trash. Even though I’m fully vaccinated, I was a little nervous waiting for my results—which were thankfully negative.
Each kit comes with two tests, so you can store one for later use or have a family member take it.
How accurate is the BinaxNOW COVID-19 test?
According to the enclosed pamphlet, the test correctly IDed 91.7% of positive specimens and 100% of negative specimens in a clinical trial.
Experts say the test has a few pros and cons.
“There are pluses and minuses” to tests like this, says Jamie Alan, Pharm.D., Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacology at Michigan State University. “This increases accessibility—to those who can afford it—but it leaves the results up to interpretation.”
Worth noting: BinaxNOW even says in its instructions that you need to look at your results closely. Even a faint line appearing below the control line means you have COVID-19. (I squinted at mine and re-checked it a few times, just to be sure.) You also need to view your test results after 15 minutes but before 30 minutes, so you have a limited window.
There’s also a potential issue with when you test. If someone tests the day after they’ve been exposed and gets a negative result, “this does not mean that you don’t have COVID-19,” Alan says says. Instead, she adds, you could test negative one day but positive a few days later, which means you “might get a false sense of security” in that timeframe, which is more likely with an “inexperienced” tester.
Maria Laura Gennaro, M.D., professor of epidemiology at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, has concerns about the price for constant use. “It’s too expensive at $24,” she says. If the price of the test was lower, like $1 or $2, places like restaurants and hair salons could use it to make sure that their patrons would be safe. At the current price, “not everyone can afford it,” Dr. Gennaro says.
However, if you have the means to purchase the test and follow directions well, experts say this test can be handy to have at home—especially prior to next year’s flu season. “Overall, this is another tool in our kit,” Alan says. “As long as these are given correctly and the results are interpreted correctly, these are very useful.”
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