![]() ![]() (To be fair, though, I have zero patience-so I don’t totally blame the test for this.)īut once I took a moment to actually do the test, it was incredibly easy. 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. I’ll admit it: I was intimidated when I first opened the directions for the BinaxNOW test. The BinaxNOW test takes a moment to figure out. 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.Īntigen 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. How does the BinaxNOW COVID rapid test work? Here’s what you need to know if you’re interested in rapid COVID-19 testing at home. The experience was interesting-it’s weird to be swabbing your nose at home-but definitely convenient. After I spotted it at my local Walmart (where it was $19.99), I knew I had to try it. “Doing the test at home saves the person from having to go out, potentially infecting others.”īinaxNOW is already on shelves across the country. “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. (The other is a test by Ellume, which is $38.99.) 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. 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.
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