Just for kicks, try searching for at-home COVID-19 test kits on your favorite retail websites.

I checked the usual suspects this morning (Amazon.com, CVS, Walgreen, Walmart) and they all claim to have these test kits in stock. Many are priced under $30 and claim to provide results within 15 minutes.

I don't know much of anything about the quality of at home tests, but I did hear that BinaxNow is supposed to be one of the most accurate.

For Walgreens, I'm seeing the same thing I saw last week. Out of stock for shipping, and the site tells you to visit the store to see if they have it. Apparently they don't have up to date inventory info to post online.

Amazon doesn't list Binax for sale at all and seems to have a limited number of choices of other products.

Have to admit, from what I'm hearing about omicron, I don't see much value to doing testing. The window of opportunity to identify a positive case is small. It's looking like people are contagious when they're pre-symptomatic and this variant may clear quickly.

I think if people are worried about giving/getting the virus they just need to mask and avoid being around other people (if they can) for the next few weeks while omicron runs its course.

Life is a carp shoot right now.

I am wondering about the value of testing too. I got mild cold symptoms last Thursday, now gone. Lines at testing sites are ridiculous. I finally got a real appointment at a nearby site for Dec. 29.

When it comes to testing, I guess the question is what you would do differently depending on the result.

Medically, probably nothing. It's not like we have the option (yet) to get a prescription for an anti-viral if we figure out we're in the early stages of the virus.

If you had active symptoms and no test results, you'd be monitoring temp and O2; a test wouldn't change that.

If you're wondering whether to go out and whether you could be contagious to others.....I simply don't think the testing provides any reasonable assurance one way or the other (see my comments above).

There's also the risk of getting to/from, and being at, a crowded test site exposed to a ton of people....

We bought Covid home tests at Walgreens on Christmas Eve; my friend had bought some several days before. I called the store to see if they still had them, and they did. $23.99 for a 2 pack, limit 4 boxes. Mr. AM and I went together so we could get enough for our family Christmas dinner participants, and I delivered them to the various houses.

Son1 had a headache Christmas morning that started the night before, tested negative but both kids (they hang out a lot together) opted to skip the family gathering, which was the right choice. Headache lasted another day. He’s fine now.

The Walgreens that had the home tests is on the outskirts of PDX, where Covid isn’t as real to people as in my little blue bubble.

From what I've been able to parse is that the quick tests let you know if you are contagious right now. In the city we have lots of pop-up store front testing sites that haven't been crowded.

So testing is valuable (to me at least) if there is going to be any kind of group activity. Like all of those holiday gatherings I've seen on social media! But it's not an "I'm not infected" card, just a safer status for today...

Infection rates in the city are higher than ever before - and that doesn't count the self-tests!

There was a thread on Twitter last night that said, ignore the instructions on the package. Test your nose and your tonsils. People were showing pictures of tests of just the nose (negative) side by side with tests of the nose and throat (positive).

I know someone who just came back from England, and he said that's what they do with airline passengers there. Nose and throat.

And then I saw this:

https://www.politico.com/news/...ivity-omicron-526217

Brave new world out there. I'm familiar with a few cases where people seem to be exhibiting COVID symptoms but tests are coming up negative.

We're really dealing with a new disease. Incubation period appears to be shorter (and earlier), the severity of illness seems less, vaccines no longer a good match to prevent infection (but still reasonably good at keeping people out of the hospital and alive).

It's keeping us guessing. Who knows what's next?

Looks like the Chicago Tribune dropped their paywall, at least for this article about COVID testing.

https://www.chicagotribune.com...inp4bntqy-story.html

We try to keep 4 on hand. We've had good luck with ordering from Walmart or Walgreens (the latter runs out more frequently). I've not tried Amazon--can you back order them?

I am aware of false alarm and a miss (aka false positive and false negative), but this is the only tool we have available to us so I'm going to use it for asymptotic testing, and save the PCR test for symptomatic testing, known exposure or travel requirements. That's how we roll here at Chez Nina.

Seems to me an at home test is most useful if it turns up positive. I would not absolutely trust a negative?

My local Walgreens had a good supply.

Jf

I've only been tested once.

I've been vaxxed and boosted and am careful in public -- which seems to be working.

I don't want to be hypochondraical about it. Reminds me of people who got on the 'unsafe sex/HIV testing" hamster wheel I guess. I do what I can and get tested if required like for my recent surgery that didn't happen for another reason.