Testing and Contact Tracing

Free COVID-19 tests will once again be available in the US starting Monday, Sept 25, from covidtests.gov. Each household can receive four tests. With cases rising, it’s always a good idea to have tests on hand. Please share to spread the word to your friends, families, and communities. Stay safe. Stay well. Test as needed. Read more…

Rapid antigen tests (RATs) can detect some asymptomatic (symptom-free) COVID-19 cases, but they are far from perfect, and should be interpreted with caution. TL:DR; A positive RAT is almost always right, but a negative result isn’t a guarantee that you are COVID-free. Best practice after a COVID exposure is to wait 5 days before testing, Read more…

Great question from Leah!* The answer: Yes, it is OK! We don’t have evidence that using nose sprays or Neti pots will change your COVID-19 rapid test results! TL; DR: The SARS CoV-2 rapid antigen tests (aka COVID-19 rapid tests) become positive if they find a lot of the protein that that comes from SARS Read more…

Rapid antigen tests can detect the latest COVID-19 variants, but their performance may be weaker than it was with the original SARS-CoV-2 strains. There is a good chance that you will have to test more than once to get your first positive test. The answer to the question “how well do antigen tests work?” is Read more…

Not always! In many cases you can walk into a pharmacy, provide your insurance card, and walk out with 8 free tests! No paperwork or reimbursement required. If you have health insurance in the U.S. (via your employer, Medicare Part B, Medicaid, or the Affordable Care Act marketplace) **EACH PERSON** in your family covered on Read more…

A: It’s still a good idea to test if you have cold symptoms, know you were exposed, or are visiting anyone vulnerable to severe COVID disease. If it feels like everyone you know has had a cold or upper respiratory illness in the last 3 months, Those Nerdy Girls are right there with you. The Read more…

Starting *today*, U.S. households can order 4 *FREE* rapid tests!!! The steps are easy: 🌟 Visit https://www.covid.gov/tests 🌟 Enter your name and address (and email if you want shipping notifications) 🌟 Tests will start shipping next week Order now to get tests you can use before holiday and new year’s gatherings! 🎉🎉🎉 P.S. If you Read more…

A) Not so fast!🛑 Before you toss those tests, check online for an expiration date extension. There’s a good chance that the true expiration date is well beyond the date printed on the box. To hunt down extended expiration dates and understand why they can be moving targets, read on: In the United States, 13 Read more…