Brief Guide to the Pluses/Minuses of COVID-19 Tests

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Edward Hessler

Currently there are three kinds of COVID-19 tests: the diagnostic or PCR test, the antibody test, and the antigen test.

Importantly, author Ricard Harris emphasizes at the outset that "the first and most urgent focus is on increasing access to tests to diagnose people with current infections."

NPR Health sorts out the pluses and minuses to each.

For each there is a description of what the test does, how it works, its accuracy, and how quick it is.