I have not yet had a covid test. I’ve greatly limited my social contacts, haven’t travelled, am not aware of any contacts to transmissible folk, and have never ad symptoms beyond an occasional and transient runny nose/cough.
Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be seeing a few people on xmas eve and a few others on xmas. AFAIK, all of those folks are vaxxed. Then in early Jan I’ll likely see more for a memorial for my recently deceased FIL. I suspect at least some of those folk will be untaxed assholes.
Should I get tested before? After? How often?
A couple of days ago I had what felt like a VERY mile beginning of a sore throat. Over the next couple of days, I d a bit of a runny nose and a coughing spell or 2. Nothing a decongestant and cough drop didn’t handle. Never even rose to the level of what I would consider a cold. (Lifelong asthmatic, for whom occasional drips, coughs, wheezes, and sorts are not at all unusual.). And today I feel normal. Never had difficulty breathing and never lost my sense of smell/taste.
My wife and I got tested yesterday. We have no symptoms, but we are going to be seeing family this week some of whom are not vaccinated. They are all living very insular lives with little exposure to potential infection, and we are vaccinated, so I am mostly concerned with us giving them COVID from an asymptomatic infection. We’ve been ‘isolating’ for two weeks, but we have gone shopping a few times and the pre-Christmas stores are CROWDED.
The test is free and took very little time. If you have a free testing site anywhere near you, go get tested. What’s the downside?
Well, there is some EXTREMELY MINIMAL downside to the overuse of medical care, but probably not significant in this pandemic.
Moreso, how do you decide how often to be tested? If I’m negative today, who knows if I’ll be negative tomorrow? In the situation I describe, I’ll be seeing people 12/24, 12/25, 1/9 - and likely some smaller/briefer contacts in between. On what day(s) should I get tested?
My difficulty with that was, when I looked up Covid symptoms, it looks as though just about ANY upper respiratory symptoms COULD be symptoms of Covid.
Or they COULD be a cold, my allergies acting up, some other virus… So I’ve been focusing on loss of taste/smell, or difficulty breathing - which I interpret as something more that the rare taking of 1 puff of albuterol.
If I isolated for 10-14 days every time my nose ran, I would be isolated continually. So I’m trying to decide where the balance point is between carelessness and excessive caution.
Never been tested, neither has my gf. We’ve both been healthy and have had no known exposure. We’ll be going to St Martin in January and the US currently requires we be tested to return home, so I guess we will be getting a test done then.
I have tested multiple times - mostly lateral flow tests but I’ve also taken a pcr when travelling abroad.
I have tested twice weekly when I’ve been going into the office, before any company event, anytime I’ve felt anything like a cough or cold, and for the last week with Omnicron escalating infections at an alarming rate I’ve been testing when I’ve met up with friends.
It helps that, aside from for foreign travel, tests are free in the UK, and you can order a pack of 7 lateral flow tests for next day delivery. It’s just become a normal part of life for everyone.
I know a number of vaccinated people who have reported simple cold symptoms, and tested positive. I would buy in a stash of lateral flows, and test every day you plan to see someone.
I’m going for drinks with neighbours tonight - I’m testing before I go.
A Covid testing site was placed in the parking lot of a middle school across the street from my house. The folks running it came through the neighborhood and left leaflets inviting everyone to come by for a free Covid test. My wife and I stopped by last week and were tested. We were both tested negative so our family holiday gathering went on as planned last Saturday.
Fortunately NH sent us a bunch of at home rapid tests because a coworker I met in person for the first time (at the first in person meeting I’ve been to since 3/20) on the 13th tested positive yesterday. This being the case I used on of the tests, which is negative.
The only other time I’ve tested was for last week’s meeting because the university requires it to be in the office for longer than 15 minutes.
We’re able to isolate other than an occasional grocery or post office trip. We haven’t knowingly had symptoms and we check our temperatures and use a pulse-oximeter if we feel under the weather. After we see some people over the next few weeks who have had more contact with others, we’ll test since we have kits that are going to expire.
The availability of testing has gone haywire here in northeast Ohio. I think people hoarded tests when they first became available and a lot of places are requiring testing (entertainment venues) and now with this surge people are wanting to be tested before Christmas gatherings. Local clinics are dealing with actual covid patients so they are not doing testing anymore. Libraries had tests but they all seem to be out. Stores that have tests are few and far between.
The Cleveland Clinic stopped doing testing at most of their sites and opened a single site downtown today, which I read was an absolute shitshow traffic-wise.
SO that being said…I won’t be testing any time soon unless I have symptoms. And hopefully I can find a place to get a test. My Christmas gathering is just vaccinated people who have been together this whole time anyway so I’m not concerned. If tests were more available I think I might give it a shot before Christmas (my dad isn’t bolstered) but I’m not trying to fight to get a test right now. I’ll be home alone for a week anyway.
Well, to answer the question in the title, I’ve had to get tested several times, generally when someone I had close contact with had a positive covid test. So, that’s what would lead me to get tested again…someone I’ve had close contact with testing positive.
As for your situation, that’s really up to you. This is the cold and flu season, so the symptoms you mentioned, along with your asthma is probably the reason, but for peace of mind it wouldn’t hurt to get tested (it might cost you…I think my tests cost around $50 with my insurance, but if I have to be tested for work they pay the costs).
I wouldn’t isolate, just use your regular procedures (I assume you mask up when in public and wash and such…if not, do that). If you really have a concern, as I said I’d just go get the test. Do a web search for rapid covid testing places in your area, then give them a call and do whatever they require to get tested. Most take insurance, but there is usually a co-pay so be aware of that. But you can get tested, then wait there for the results and you’ll know.
Of course, this is a moving target, so be prepared to get tested again if you have similar concerns later. That’s why I only get tested when I’m in close contact with someone who has tested positive. At this point I’ve been tested 5 or 6 times.
The place I work defines it as 15 minutes in close proximity (6 feet or less) with someone who tests positive. Or, if it’s someone in your office then, regardless of close contact you need to get tested if they test positive.
I’d get tested if required for some reason or if I had unexplained symptoms. So far I’ve had a few colds since Covid began, but they all came a few days after my kids got a cold, and the boy’s school policy is that any possible covid symptoms means he has to stay home for 10 days or produce a negative covid test. When I get a cold ~4 days after my kid did and he tests negative, seems silly to waste a test on me.
I’d probably get a test if someone asked me to for a family gathering, but it hasn’t come up.
No, not for close contact, at least that’s the policy. We are required to mask in the building but in our office (which is security locked and has a receptionist) we don’t have to wear masks unless someone from outside the department comes into the office.
But I’d say that, outside, you could probably extend the time and shorten the close contact space…and really, it’s going to be up to you if you aren’t following a policy. I would say that if you have a friend or family member who you have contact with and they test positive, definitely get tested. Or, just for your own peace of mind. I’ll say that the testing today is much, MUCH better than the early tests wrt discomfort. And they are a lot quicker if you find a rapid covid testing site near you. As long as the cost is ok, it won’t hurt to get tested, and these days I don’t think you need to really even explain why you want/need the test. Early days we had to have written authorization to get the test, which could be a pain, especially since it was required for us to come back to work.
Yes, absolutely. However, in my personal experience, there were two cars ahead of us at the drive through testing center, and maybe two cars behind us by the time we left. I don’t know how overwhelmed the labs might be, but I didn’t get the impression that too many people getting tested is a problem.