From what I have read, the PCR test is pretty accurate, while the rapid antibody test is less so.

Assuming you have had the PCR rest, maybe you tested too early for it to register?

Edited to add: my friend received a false positive rapid test.

So sorry to hear about your DD. I hope she gets well soon.

If you are positive, it may take several days before it shows in the test. So hang tight and watch for symptoms...if you get them, get tested again....remember to look for stomach issues, not just respiratory ones, loss of sense of taste, fever and fatigue. If you have a pulse ox, use it.

Annie, it's been a few weeks living together and we went to the same doctor. She would have told us it was too soon.

Graywings, that is exactly what I am thinking.

We are now waiting for the PCR. But, we both feel fine. If anything, just run down from all of this stress.

Well sorry to hear of your "excitement" --- and hope when you get re-tested you are still negative.

I do know of one other family where the father was regularly tested (for his job) and though asymptomatic, he tested positive. His kids were tested and they too were positive,. The wife/mother, who lives with all of them tested negative.

Hoping the negative holds for you and your DH -- and that your young people recover without trouble.

From what I have read, the PCR test is pretty accurate, while the rapid antibody test is less so.

The rapid test is an antigen test, not an antibody test. Like the PCR test, antigen testing detects current infection, while antibody tests (which are blood tests) can detect antibodies in your system which indicate that you already had the illness and recovered.

Fingers crossed that it all turns out fine, but do please take special care of yourselves the next couple days.

If you feel rundown it may be from stress but it could also be that you do have the infection but the tests are too early as mentioned above. You did not say when your daughter became ill but the reason for the 14 days is because initially there are not enough virus in the body to register. From reading some people only develop symptoms toward the end of those 14 days. Some people apparently take even longer than 14 days.

Best wishes for speedy and successful outcomes for all.

It's not foolproof but keep tabs on your sense of smell and taste. Did your daughter and BF comment on their lack of senses?

Sorry to hear your daughter and boyfriend are sick. I go back to work today and am hoping no one else got it at work as we were all exposed to two people a couple weeks ago.

Thanks everyone. So far it is just my daughter. She did say she lost her sense of smell and taste, but she is very stuffy! Looks like a very bad cold.

Unfortunately, she did not get PCR version. Still working things out with her insurance. It's a lot of money out of pocket.

"If you are positive, it may take several days before it shows in the test."

I've heard the same thing regarding getting tested too early. The best time to get tested is 5-7 days after exposure.

Something I wasn't aware of is, per the CDC, people can continue to test positive for up to 3 months after diagnosis and not be infectious to others.

I hope everyone is ok.

I thought testing was free in most states?

eld...I hope everyone is doing well. Sorry you had to go through this.

Maddie, yes there are places to go, but she wanted the rapid test. Also, here you need to make an appointment a few days out for the free places.

I keep hearing different things. We were just talking to someone who said it takes 14 days to no longer be contagious. I guess it is from the time you are tested? The rapid test is 70% effective, while the PCR is 100%.

My daughter had been with us for over 2 weeks.

Good wishes to you and your DH and to your DD and her BF as well.

You said they went back to the city. Do they have heat? Has the gas been turned back on?

I thought the cost for testing was covered by most insurance or government sponsored programs...? I do know people who have paid $150 for rapid testing. DH and I were both tested in mid November. We tried to make appointments at local testing sites, but they ALL said "currently no appointments available." We called our doctor and he ordered tests for us. So much easier.

"We were just talking to someone who said it takes 14 days to no longer be contagious. I guess it is from the time you are tested?"

eld, I think the CDC now says 10 days after the onset of symptoms for people with mild to moderate symptoms. I'm pretty sure it's more like 20 days with more severe to critical illness.

When we were tested our doctor told us 14 days from the date of exposure. The problem there is you might not know when you were exposed. The place that did the testing for us said 10 days from the date of the test. IDK, that just seems safer to me since people are likely to get tested after symptoms appear. As I posted before, I did not know you can still test positive for 3 months without being contagious. That seems important to know since people could freak out if they still test positive.

I think it's quite possible you'll eventually have it, but hey, who knows? This is one weird virus and I've read about many households where only some people got it. If your second test is negative I'd continue to keep an eye on potential symptoms, just in case you still develop it.

My husband and I recently had Covid. We both started with what felt like just a cold....tiredness and a little throat tickle for four days, and then eventually full blown bad cold symptoms.

I didn't lose taste and smell until a week in and still don't have it two weeks later. My husband never lost it at all. We never had fevers, so that is another unreliable measure.

It is VERY POSSIBLE. The virus is no more contagious than any flu and that also is very fickle as to who gets it. It too often calls for the need of a respirator which there are not enough of in our hospitals it appears. Much FEAR was spread early because of how little we knew about this new virus. If you do get it, hopefully it will not go respiratory on you!! How is your daughter doing? It's a rough few days after that she will be FREE.

I’m sorry to hear this eld. I hope your daughter recovers quickly and completely, and that you continue to test negative

I have wondered at the people who keep parroting the idea that this virus is like a flu as if it is a mild disease that only kills the sick ones or something. Both kill and both leave people with life long health problems which for people who have never known anyone who has been unable to function for months if not longer. The year my husband went to the nursing home a good half of the patients were 50 and below including their 30s because they were not well enough to go home most frequently requiring oxygen or monitoring when their oxygen went too low. Second most common reason was that it was not safe for the patient to have their lungs sucked free of the built up mucus. I knew my grandmother had been sent to a nursing home in the 1950s because she had a flu but had never thought of what happened when a patient required nursing home care after the flu. The only thing I can come up with is they have never known someone with a serious hospitalized case of the flu that took months before they could function enough to be home.