# Have you been tested for COVID? How many times? Are you getting tested regularly? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [November 21, 2020, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122 "2020-11-21T11:50:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Apodder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apodder/32/17727_2.png) [@Apodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apodder)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/21 "2020-11-22T16:03:50Z")
Recovery room/ICU nurse here. Never been tested. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/22 "2020-11-22T20:31:54Z")
Do you mind if I ask where you work? I’m a nursing home doctor, and I’m probably up to somewhere between 30 and 50 tests. I’ve lost count, but we are required to test at least twice a week, and that’s been going on for several months. This applies to all the nursing home staff, at all the facilities in the county where I live. ETA. I’m from south Texas ---
**Author:** ![Apodder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/apodder/32/17727_2.png) [@Apodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apodder)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/23 "2020-11-22T21:10:52Z")
Ohio State med center. They don’t test us unless we’re symptomatic regardless of whether we’re caring for covid-positive patients or not. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2020, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/24 "2020-11-22T22:54:53Z")
Yep before a procedure. Simple swab, not the scary one. Negative…nephew at Indiana University just got tested. He was exposed . Negative. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2020, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/25 "2020-11-24T07:41:18Z")
I got tested because I had mild symptoms. Test was negative. The doc thinks I had a mild flu or similar. The question is where did I pick up _any_ infectious disease? I ‘m pretty careful, but that showed me I needed to be even more careful. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2020, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/26 "2020-11-24T08:12:53Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I’m asking the question because a friend of mine (close to 70) just had her fourth test. She’s retired and lives in an apartment alone, but it’s in a retirement community. She’s never had any symptoms. She got tested the first two times out of curiosity mixed with anxiety. The third time it was because of possible exposure. So far all her tests have been negative. She went yesterday on her own for her fourth test because our local numbers are up. She said now she plans to get tested every week. Interesting, if she’s getting tested just because she’s curious, does she have to pay for her tests? Here (UK), to get a free test, you need fit certain criteria, such as being symptomatic, or a key worker who’s been exposed, or prior to a medical procedure, or in a care facility where someone has tested positive, for example. I assume I could pay for a private test if I was curious, but haven’t looked into it. There has been some talk of doing a national mass testing - they trialled it in Liverpool, with some success in controlling the virus, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2020, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/27 "2020-11-24T08:43:20Z")
I got my first test on Saturday to “clear” myself for a small Thanksgiving gathering. Negative, I’m relieved to say. Glad to know that limiting my human contact to food-related matters and washing cloth masks over and over has paid off so far. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2020, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/28 "2020-11-24T10:44:49Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Interesting, if she’s getting tested just because she’s curious, does she have to pay for her tests? Here (UK), to get a free test, you need fit certain criteria, such as being symptomatic, or a key worker who’s been exposed, or prior to a medical procedure, or in a care facility where someone has tested positive, for example. I assume I could pay for a private test if I was curious, but haven’t looked into it. I’m sure she doesn’t have to pay for them as she has very limited income. I think the city or county has free testing sites that anyone can go to. At one time you had to be symptomatic, but I don’t think that’s a requirement anymore. Maybe Medicare pays for it? I guess if I decide to get tested, I’ll research that or ask her. I don’t really understand her reasoning WRT weekly testing. All getting a negative test result tells you is that _you got a negative test result_ at one isolated moment in time. You still have to keep doing what you’ve been doing. It doesn’t change anything except give you peace of mind for a short time. Because you could still have it or pick it up any time. I think some people have almost a superstition about testing-- as if it _protects_ them in some way. Not sure if this applies to her. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2020, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/29 "2020-11-24T11:39:47Z")
I think some people just panic about health generally. I think my father would get a test every other day if he could. And let’s face it, this virus makes us all a bit paranoid, I’m sure we’ve all woken up with a mild cough or a warmish head at some point and totally thought ‘I’ve got it!’ ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2020, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/30 "2020-11-24T14:29:35Z")
Here in NYC, anyone can get a free PCR test. The city has a bunch of quite well-organized and fast testing centers set up all around town. I get tested every week, and have been since some point in the summer (I forget exactly when I started). I do it because I’m in and out of my office (not every day, but pretty much once a week, some weeks more, some weeks less). I travel (by bicycle) around the city. I shop. I can’t get my exposure down to zero. It’s not possible. My father is resident in a memory care facility, and once in a while, when everything lines up right with their staff and resident testing and various city and state regulations, they allow relatives with a negative test of very recent vintage to visit (distanced, masked, separated by glass partitions, outdoors, etc.). Given his age and health, he isn’t going to be around much longer. I do not want the last year or two of his life to be spent in isolation. I also don’t want (and wouldn’t be permitted) to expose him and his co-residents to any more risk than absolutely unavoidable. So I walk or bicycle to the test location, get tested, and then go home, again walking or bicycling. I stay home until I get my result (usually in less than 24 hours), and then (if the residence is permitting visitors) visit my father. I travel to the visit by bicycle, not subway. So I get tested weekly. I’m about to go now, in fact. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/31 "2020-11-24T15:25:04Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > And let’s face it, this virus makes us all a bit paranoid, I’m sure we’ve all woken up with a mild cough or a warmish head at some point and totally thought ‘I’ve got it!’ This morning in fact. 😐 I’m prone to health anxiety anyway, so getting a negative test probably wouldn’t reassure me except for an hour or so. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2020, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/32 "2020-11-24T16:21:33Z")
I’ve been tested three times, always with the brain ticker. One was before a trip to another state that would require quarantining if I didn’t have a negative test, one was before a procedure, and just this past Friday because I’m seeing my mother this week. ETA: All were negative. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2020, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/33 "2020-11-24T23:50:52Z")
I’ve been tested twice, both times with the nasal swab, both as part of the vaccine trial I’m participating in. I haven’t had any symptoms or encountered anyone who tested positive, and while I’ve thought about getting tested before going to see my folks (for a socially-distanced outdoor visit), the timing just hasn’t worked out. The local testing system asks you to affirm you’ll isolate yourself until you get your results, but they don’t guarantee when you’ll get them, and sometimes you can’t get the test date you want either. So I haven’t gotten around to it. ETA: I did also have an antibody test that was free with my blood donation, and presumably they tested for antibodies with the vaccine study as well. I wasn’t surprised when it came back negative, although a small part of me had been hoping I would have already had it and didn’t need to worry anymore. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/34 "2020-11-25T00:00:58Z")
> [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > although a small part of me had been hoping I would have already had it and didn’t need to worry anymore. No guarantee. It is **no longer** rare or unusual for someone to get it twice. Initially it seemed to be rare, it is no longer. My housemate’s father, confirmed twice by hospital lab tests and the friend of a friend and I lead a sequestered life in the middle of flyover country, hardly dense urbanity. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/35 "2020-11-25T00:40:06Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > It is **no longer** rare or unusual for someone to get it twice. Initially it seemed to be rare, it is no longer. Cite? This is not my understanding at all. As of a month ago it was so rare as to be nearly non-existent. Like, more likely to be born with three arms kind of odds. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/36 "2020-11-25T00:48:46Z")
> [@Trom](#): > > Cite? This is not my understanding at all. As of a month ago it was so rare as to be nearly non-existent. Like, more likely to be born with three arms kind of odds.- Seeing different answers. Oct 28: > **[The Washington Post - Breaking news and latest headlines, U.S. news, world...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/)** > > Breaking news, live coverage, investigations, analysis, video, photos and opinions from The Washington Post. Subscribe for the latest on U.S. and international news, politics, business, technology, climate change, health and wellness, sports,... Nov 11 > **[COVID-19 Reinfection and You](https://www.pitt.edu/pittwire/features-articles/covid-19-reinfection-and-you)** > > Yes, it’s possible to get COVID-19 twice. With cases in the region rising and students preparing to leave Pitt campuses before Thanksgiving, here’s what you need to know about reinfection and spread. Nov 18: [https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/11/more-people-are-getting-covid-19-twice-suggesting-immunity-wanes-quickly-some](https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/11/more-people-are-getting-covid-19-twice-suggesting-immunity-wanes-quickly-some) ---
**Author:** ![FigNorton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fignorton/32/5619_2.png) [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/37 "2020-11-25T01:02:27Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Seeing different answers. You’re not really. Reinfection would not be surprising, almost all of us get multiple bouts of other coronaviruses. But none of those articles say “it’s no longer rare” to be reinfected with this one. Your first article: “A tracker maintained by the Dutch news agency BNO News had recorded 24 cases globally as of Oct. 16.” Your second: "It is possible! Based on historical studies of other respiratory viruses that behave similar to this coronavirus, we know that people can get reinfected, even with the same strain. " Third: “Scientists are keenly interested in cases like hers, which are still rare but on the rise. Reinfections hint that immunity against COVID-19 may […]” ---
**Author:** ![toledojim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@toledojim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toledojim)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/38 "2020-11-25T01:14:50Z")
Thrice: Once at the hospital admission for a stroke (I’m OK now), Twice for person I was near to being tested positive. Negative all three times. Don’t recall first one, other two were the brain swab. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/39 "2020-11-25T01:15:54Z")
I’m not denying that reinfection has occurred. It’s just exceedingly rare. Given that there are around 60 million cases in the world and the articles linked above are talking about reinfection cases in the hundreds, it isn’t at all common. There’s a lot of wiggle words like “may, possible, could be” in those articles, which I understand. It’s not right to talk in absolutes about this stuff yet. But, statistical context is extremely important. The article from Science links to a few studies looking at cases of suspected reinfection - and includes numbers. Netherlands study: 50 cases Mexican study: 285 cases Brazil study: 95 cases Qatar study: 243 cases Let’s say they’re only catching 1 out of 10 cases of reinfection and add a zero to all of those and compare to number of confirmed cases in those countries (per worldometers.info). This gives reinfection rates of this: Netherlands: 0.1% Mexico: 0.2% Brazil: 0.01% Qatar: 1.8% Qatar looks to be the worst, but my back-of-the-envelope math is likely too conservative in regards to the Qatar situation. From the authors of the Qatar study: > Risk of reinfection was estimated at 0.01% (95% CI: 0.01-0.02%) and incidence rate of reinfection was estimated at 0.36 (95% CI: 0.28-0.47) per 10,000 person-weeks. Conclusions: SARS-CoV-2 reinfection can occur but is a rare phenomenon suggestive of a strong protective immunity against reinfection that lasts for at least a few months post primary infection. ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2020, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122/40 "2020-11-25T10:52:38Z")
I’ve been tested once, because I was alerted by the contact tracing app that I had been in contact with someone who tested positive, and at the same time started to have cold-like symptoms. Had the brain-tickler nasal swab and tested negative, thank goodness. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-tested-for-covid-how-many-times-are-you-getting-tested-regularly/926122.md?page=3)