I tested positive, then negative, then positive again. What should I do?
Repeat testing after the
initial positive test is neither required nor recommended. You should rely on your
initial positive covidSHIELD test as definitive, take appropriate action to
isolate and consult with your health care provider or local health department with any questions or
concerns.
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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 ...
What do my results mean?
The covidSHIELD test looks for three markers which are specific to the SARS-CoV-2 virus plus a control substance which is added during the testing process. The results of the test can be interpreted as follows: Negative – The test did not find any of ...
How will a patient or organization be notified of test results?
How or if a patient or organization will receive results is dependent on the organization type and how it was requested to be configured. For community test sites, the patient will receive their results through the patient portal at ...
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 ...
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 ...