PSA: One Negative COVID-19 Test Is Not a Free Pass to Hang Out With All Your Friends

 One Negative COVID-19 Test Is Not a Free Pass to Hang Out With Every Your Friends. 

Testing is important, but not a substitute for other safety measures.

In recent days, several people close to Vice President Mike Pence have tested positive for COVID-19(Coronavirus). Because Pence received a negative COVID-19(Coronavirus)test, the White House argued that it is safe to continue campaigning. And it's understandable that you (and Pence) want to rely on a negative COVID19 (Coronavirus)test to make sure it's not going to infect others. But that's not how it really works, and a single negative test result is no 

guarantee that you don't have the virus.

There are a few different types of COVID-19(Coronavirus)tests now. The gold standard of coronavirus testing remains the nasal swab, which uses polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to look for the presence of viral RNA in your sample. These tend to be the most accurate, but they are also invasive and depending on how many other people are also getting tested in your area, it may take a while for the results to appear. Other types of tests, rapid COVID-19(Coronavirus)tests, tend to be cheaper and faster, but are often slightly less accurate in their results.

There are also coronavirus antibody tests that purport to tell you if you have antibodies to the virus after an infection, but it is not entirely clear what the results of those tests actually mean. And having a positive result (which means you have antibodies to the virus) should definitely not be taken as a sign that you are now "immune" to the virus.

Testing is important, but not a substitute for other safety measures.

Coronavirus tests are especially useful when used to diagnose infection in people who have symptoms of the virus and those who have been exposed to someone with a known case of COVID-19(Coronavirus), whether or not they have symptoms. Experts also believe that frequent and widespread rapid tests can help detect an outbreak in its early stages in places like college campuses, where there are many people in close proximity.

But the evidence we have is not perfect. For example, we know that tests are more likely to give you a false negative result (meaning you have COVID-19(Coronavirus)but the test is negative) sooner in your illness. Symptoms take an average of five days after exposure to COVID-19(Coronavirus)(although they can take up to 14), and a recent study in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that PCR tests are less accurate in the first four days before have symptoms. The false negative rate on day four was 67%, it was 38% on day five, and it fell to 20% on day eight in this study.

"If you test negative for COVID, it doesn't mean you don't have COVID. It just means you don't have enough virus to detect," said Rachel Roper, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and immunology at East Carolina University, explained on Twitter. . "You could be in the incubation phase. Every person who ever contracted COVID would have tested negative one day and positive the next."

That's why experts previously told SELF that it's best to wait, and pre-emptively quarantine, at least a few days after a possible coronavirus exposure before getting tested. Even if you get a negative test once, you may need to be retested in a few days if you begin to develop symptoms or to confirm the negative result. But even after a negative test, if you are in close contact with someone with a confirmed case of COVID-19(Coronavirus), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that you remain in quarantine for a full 14 days after exposure. .

For all these reasons, you shouldn't see a negative test result on its own as a sign that you are free and clear to interact with people in high-risk situations, such as unmasked indoor gatherings with your friends, especially if you've been exposed. someone with a confirmed case of COVID-19. In fact, relying solely on tests "can do more harm than good because they provide a false sense of comfort and allow people to let their guard down," said Ali Nouri, Ph.D., molecular biologist and president of the Federation of Scientists. Americans. On twitter.

The safest way to hang out with your friends, family, or anyone else you don't currently live with is to do it virtually. If you want to see people in person, it is crucial to reduce risks as much as possible by wearing masks, ensuring that people are kept socially distanced, holding the event outdoors or in a space with adequate ventilation, encouraging those not to they feel good to stay home and limit the number of people there, according to the CDC. Requiring everyone to have a negative COVID-19(Coronavirus)test before they arrive can give you an added sense of security, but it is not a substitute for those other essential precautions.