There are three different ways to test for COVID-19: PCR tests, antigen tests and antibody tests. Here are the differences.

The two types of diagnostic tests right now being utilized to detect various forms of COVID-19 in the United States are the PCR test and the antigen test.

While you may be used to thinking of COVID tests as interchangeable, there’s a big difference between the standard at-home antigen test and a PCR (molecular) test. Almost five years in, it’s important ...

When you think about getting tested for COVID-19, you’re most likely picturing two types of tests: the at-home rapid antigen tests you can buy at the drugstore and the PCR test where the results ...

At-home rapid tests for COVID-19 are more convenient. But experts say there are still times when a PCR test is useful.

Researchers investigated how antigen concentration and viral load in different specimen types affected the performance of SARS-CoV-2 rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs).

Medically reviewed by Kate Colby, MPH People with asymptomatic or mild COVID illness generally test negative after nine days, but a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test can still be positive for up to ...

What is a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test? Here, we describe how the tests work and why health experts and researchers use them.

But a positive PCR test could be misleading and overly restrictive because a person could be clear of the virus weeks before taking the test. Meanwhile, rapid antigen tests have four advantages.

Of the students, 46 tested positive with the rapid antigen test, 35 of whom were symptomatic. Twenty people tested negative with a rapid antigen but positive on a PCR.