COVID-19 FAQs

Antigen tests detect specific proteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which indicate that a person has an active infection. Rapid antigen tests are critical because they return results quickly, are easy-to-use, are cost effective, and can be scaled to provide more people with reliable testing.

Antibody testing can tell if someone was previously infected with SARS-CoV-2. Antibody testing can help scientists understand how long antibodies stay in the body post-infection, which can help support the development of novel treatments.

The U.S. FDA has made rapid tests available under an emergency access mechanism called an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). The EUA is supported by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services’ declaration that circumstances exist to justify the development of in-vitro diagnostics (IVDs) under EUA for the detection and/or diagnosis of 2019-nCoV.

Please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website, where you can find resources on how to protect yourself and what to do if you think you are sick: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html

COVID-19 isn’t the flu, despite the fact that they share many symptoms like fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle of body pain, headache, diarrhea, and even change in or loss of taste or smell.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that “COVID-19 and flu can spread from person-to-person between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet). Both are spread mainly by large and small particles containing virus that are expelled when people with the illness (COVID-19 or flu) cough, sneeze, or talk.”

There is one way to know for certain what your symptoms mean, and that is getting tested. Testing can take place on your own or at your doctor’s office.