Cheshire Medical Center issued the following announcement on November 29.
Free at-home rapid COVID-19 antigen tests are now available for order at www.covid19.nh.gov.
Rapid tests are most accurate within the first three days of having symptoms. If you have symptoms or have had a known exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, you should be tested regardless of your vaccination status
They are a great tool to know when you are contagious because they are not as sensitive as the PCR tests done at the Medical Center. A PCR test tells you if you have COVID-19, but can show a positive result when you have the virus proteins in your body, but you are no longer actively contagious.
Rapid tests are useful to indicate whether you are contagious just before you attend a small gathering or restaurant — as another layer of protection for the people around you. This is helpful for people who have no symptoms because you can be contagious for 2 days before you develop symptoms.
Rapid tests have higher rates of false positives and false negatives than PCR tests, so if you have no symptoms and get a positive result from a rapid test, schedule a PCR test right away at Cheshire Medical Center via www.mydh.org.
#KeepNewHampshireHealthy
Original source can be found here.
