CHARLOTTE, N.C. — We are ringing in another year clouded by COVID-19, with omicron continuing to spread and put a strain on the healthcare system.
“We have seen an enormous increase in demand for testing in our community," Incoming Mecklenburg County Health Director Dr. Raynard Washington said.
Mecklenburg County distributed more than 10,000 at-home tests in a month before completely running out.
They’re hopeful a new shipment will allow them to expand the number of public libraries where they’re handing them out.
But are those at home rapid tests reliable?
“They are not necessarily the best and they tend to have some more false negatives,” Dr. Sid Fletcher with Novant Health said.
Which could be a problem for someone who is taking a cautionary test.
But if you are showing symptoms and don’t want to wait in line for hours, an at-home test could do the trick.
“If it says you’re positive they’re actually pretty accurate,” Dr. Fletcher said.
Dr. Washington said you don’t necessarily need to get a PCR test to confirm it.
At-home test results won’t be reported to the county or state, but health officials are counting on people to follow CDC guidance so they’re not spreading the virus to others.
“In general, self-isolation is the first task and the most important part of that and making sure that obviously if you have severe symptoms to get in contact with your healthcare provider,” Dr. Washington explained.
Contact Chloe Leshner at cleshner@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.