Thanks for posting this. Hoping we will no longer need them after they come.

Can this possibly have a measurable impact? I’ve got like 20 tests at home at this point and I’m hesitant to use them because I don’t want to run out. And I got at least two false negatives out of the ones I’ve used; plenty of news about the rapids not being reliable for the current strain.

I’ve ordered mine nonetheless.

FOAS - I've never even taken a single Covid test through the whole ordeal. Don't think I've had it but can't be sure about that. Also did not know the tests weren't reliable. Oh well, at least they are only charging what I've already paid in taxes.

The only test I took was because it was required for recent cataract surgery. The news is rampant with information on how so many of these tests are not reliable, especially the rapid tests. Omicron is everywhere. I believe if you go anywhere at all you will be exposed at some point. So all this testing testing testing is moot. Tests tell us how many people have it but not how many are truly ill. It's not like a TB test and the vaccine doesn't appear to be doing much either at this point in the game.

Some experts have predicted that Covid will end up, and perhaps already is, as something we will have to deal with similar to the flu. I'll take it a step further, following not some expertise or anything, but I liken it more to a cold. Not in its severity. It is definitely a serious illness not to be taken lightly. But I mean chasing the constant mutations, various viral loads and transmissions with vaccines and continuously testing is turning out much to be like finding a cure for the common cold (around 20 % which are coronaviruses). Coronaviruses have always been with us, both in humans and animals. It appears Covid19 and it's variants are the worst so far. But it's fantasy to think we will find a complete solution protecting us all and not have to learn to live with it. We can hope it is on its way out with this latest more rampant but apparently less severe version.

I'm not ordering any. A test that is unreliable for a virus that they tell you to rest, hydrate and take tylenol. Duh! What a waste of tax payers money. I haven't been tested ,nor do I plan on it. If I'm not feeling well I stay home until I feel better. Why not put the money in to prevention and early treatment research.

Function, my daughter in law went to get a test, but only after I had already been exposed at Christmas because they initially thought they just had a cold. Had they had a test handy, they might have used it earlier, not visited at Christmas and I might have been spared my second bout with covid.

We ordered ours!

Lucille, the test that isn't accurate? Heck I had a friend tested at his doctors office and it came back negative. It was only after getting tested weeks later for the antibodies did he find out he had covid.

Gardengal, I agree rest, hydrate and tylenol isn't the answer, but that is the answer only given. Unless you have shortness of breath, then they tell you to go to the hospital. Tests are a tool to find a illness, condition or disease that can be treated. What treatment is offered with the covid test? If your sick stay home. Do you really need a test to tell you your sick. A test that will not change the outcome if you have it or not.

My daughter works from home, didn't feel well, did a home test and it was positive. She did a tele visit with her doctor and the doctor said a positive home test is usually correct. She gave my daughter an excuse for work, via email, because my daughter's employer has paid time off for covid , in addition to the regular sick leave.

I Just ordered mine.

I just ordered mine.

foodonastump you have had COVID twice??? 20 home tests is about 19 more than needed. They don't even count for any of this mandated testing. I am a bit shell shocked just got "this is not a bill" read out for COVID tests taken due to REAL symptoms. $250!! Insurance covers it all but still THAT'S INSANE. Work has free home tests...but they are unreliable so not sure why anyone would bother.

I've ordered ours. That site is beta today but works, I rec'd a confirmation email. I'm quite convinced that site will crash tomorrow so ordered today.

“foodonastump you have had COVID twice??? 20 home tests is about 19 more than needed.”

No but my daughter has, just got out of quarantine last week. When I say 20 I mean ten sets of two.. A complete test is two days in a row. My son and I went away for the weekend with my sister. 5.5 hours each way in a car plus shared hotel room and weekend activities. Being as there was very recent active covid in my house the right thing to do would have been for my son and me to each test twice before traveling with her. That would have been four right there, without even being symptomatic. She was ok with just me taking just one.

Do the test kits have expiration dates marked on them? Am I wrong in thinking that I heard that the tests have a very short shelf life?

Real life use of rapid antigen tests (RAT) seems to be less sensitive than manufacturer reports.

Caution: Many false negatives. If asymptomatic found 36%, if symptomatic found 64%, of positive COVID cases - compared to PCR.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7003e3.htm

ordered yesterday... even if they get here after Omicron wave, i will have for the next wave of the new variant...

this isn't going away, will be considered an endemic at some point.

if u or someone you know is immuno-compromised, its great to have the tests handy. its not all about you.

AR Girl - The ones I bought around Christmas have a en expiration date of 5/18/22 so there’s about six months. But if they continue to push out false negatives they’ll be equally effective for years to come. 😛

I got very sick in the middle of December and ended up in the hospital for three days after New Years. My home Covid tests were negative, but I am not convinced that I did not have the virus. My hospitalization resulted from diarhhea, dehydration, a bad fall and painful UTI. I tested negative by that time with the more rigorous test in the hospital but it was almost 3 weeks after my original illness. So I did order the free tests from the government's website. From what I understand, if you test positive the results are reliable. We have a trip planned the last 2 weeks of February for a stay in Savannah and are hoping to spend most of our activities outdoors there but will take the test kits with us. Fingers crossed for a healthy and fun visit. It's 24° on Cape Cod this morning.

They’ve become routine here and have always been free.

We ordered ours too...the real miracle is that the free tests website hasn't crashed, so at least that was done right.

Ordered yesterday.

Same.

I have a feeling demand will be high...

My brother ordered a set for our L.A. address, and next month when we return to Cathedral City, I will order another set for that address. They seem to be rationed by household addresses.

I do not expect a positive result, but Kevin has been experiencing anxiety about it, and he often mistakes his allergies for illness.

I told him that unless he tested positive, I would not feel compelled to take a test myself, and this way he could test himself more often. I think that I am slightly more careful than he is, but in general, we have about the same opportunities for exposure. The main difference is when we go to our respective doctors' offices.