COVID rapid tests are hard to find. They're selling for triple the retail price in some places. And now, some experts say they may not be reliable.
Headlines from across the country have shared reports of false negatives on the rise, especially in the early stages of Omicron infections.
"Test sensitivity" may be the problem.
The FDA is aware. The agency said last week it's looking into rapid tests returning a false negative with Omicron compared to other variants.
And a recent study raises more doubts about accuracy in the early days of infection.
The U.S.-based study was small. It looked at 30 people from five different workplaces in New York and California.
All of them tested positive for COVID-19 on a PCR test on the same day. But it took nearly two days for their rapid tests to come back positive.
Newsy spoke with Dr. Rachael Liesman with the University of Kansas Medical Center about the concerns regarding these tests.
