The initial COVID-19 outbreak last year sent labs and health systems across the country rushing to create tests for the novel virus. Now, more than a year and a half into the pandemic, people can get drive-through COVID-19 testing at community sites and drugstores and even order antigen tests from Amazon to take at home.
Over-the-counter rapid antigen tests for COVID-19 have become very popular.
But which tests should you use and when? And if you are vaccinated, do you need to be testing at all? Two UC Davis Health experts offer some updates and advice.
Asymptomatic COVID-19 testing
Asymptomatic testing means getting tested when you don't have any symptoms and don't feel sick.
Although it might seem pointless to get tested when you are fine, asymptomatic testing has been a key strategy in tackling the pandemic. It can identify people who may have the COVID-19 virus — and are spreading it — but don't know they're infected.
"When case rates are high, as they are right now, asymptomatic testing is an essential screening tool to identify cases and limit transmission," said Sheri Belafsky, a UC Davis Health physician and the medical director for Healthy Yolo Together.
The free testing program was originally offered to students and staff at UC Davis and residents in the city of Davis. It has now expanded and conducts saliva-based COVID-19 testing for all of Yolo County. It is also supporting weekly saliva testing in schools throughout Yolo County as students return to in-person learning.
Recent testing shows that cases are on the rise, which worries health experts.
"Healthy Yolo Together is seeing our highest case positivity rates since we began community testing in mid-November 2020," Belafsky said. "This spike in cases associated with the Delta variant underscores the importance of asymptomatic testing to slow further community spread."
And even if you are vaccinated, Belafsky still recommends asymptomatic testing. "Currently, one-quarter of our positive cases are in vaccinated individuals," Belafsky said.
For those who have access to testing, Belafsky recommends getting tested weekly.
