During the period when the omikron variant of the coronavirus became dominant, the accuracy of three commercially available self-tests was low in people without corona symptoms. Research shows that if people who have no complaints do a self-test, 72 to 80 percent of the actually infected people do not test positive.
It was already known that self-tests are sufficiently reliable in people who do have corona-like complaints.
Self-test administered after PCR test
A large group of Dutch researchers examined three commercially available and used corona self-tests from Acon Labs (‘Flowflex’), MP Biomedicals (‘MPbio’), and Siemens-Healthineers (‘Clinitest’) on more than 3600 people without corona-like complaints. . The study was conducted from January 12, 2022 to March 30 this year, when the omikron variant was already clearly dominant.
At the test sites, the participants first underwent a PCR test to determine whether or not they were actually infected. They then received one of three self-tests to use at home within three hours of the site visit, without knowing the result of the PCR test.
Repeat self-test in vulnerable environment
The researchers state that the outcome of the study is important for situations in which it is considered whether or not to use self-tests in people without complaints. People without complaints who had a negative result in a self-test are advised to repeat the self-test if they are among vulnerable people. They could, for example, do this a day after the first test.
The research also shows that it is still important to observe the well-known hygiene measures to protect vulnerable people. This involves keeping distance where possible, good ventilation, use of a mouth-nose mask and coughing in the elbow.