Could something I ate have caused a false positive?
No. SHIELD Illinois encourages everyone to refrain from eating or drinking for 60 minutes before the test to prevent the specimen from being rejected by the lab or producing a result of
INVALID. Eating or drinking before the test would not cause an incorrect positive or negative result as the covidSHIELD test detects viral RNA, not proteins. For more information, see the links below
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I don't have any symptoms. Is this a false positive?
It is extremely unlikely for the covidSHIELD test to produce a false positive result. In a recent study, the saliva test was shown to have a specificity of 98.9% and a sensitivity of 95.8% which makes it one of the most accurate tests in the world. ...
I tested positive with covidSHIELD and negative with nasal PCR or other test. Which result is correct?
Not all PCR tests are the same. They run on different PCR instruments, use different reagents, look for different genes, etc. etc. For example, the covidSHIELD saliva test is more reliable overall compared to self-collected nasal specimens. Nasal PCR ...
How reliable are covidSHIELD test results?
In a recent study, the saliva test was shown to have a specificity of 98.9% and a sensitivity of 95.8%. The FDA-authorized covidSHIELD test targets three highly conserved regions of the viral genome for detection. High specificity offered by ...
What should I do before the test?
Drink lots of water and if you can, brush your teeth one hour before the test. You should not eat, drink or put anything in your mouth one hour before taking the salvia-based test. This includes smoking, drinking, chewing gum, using mouth wash, ...
Will covidSHIELD catch variants? Delta? Omicron? Can I tell which variant I have?
Based on all available information, the covidSHIELD test will be able to identify that a specimen which is positive for the Omicron variant contains SARS-CoV-2 (i.e. the Omicron variant will not cause a false negative). The covidSHIELD test looks for ...