This is the date on which an antigen test should be done and the time it takes to repeat it

Despite the fact that the highest peak in demand for antigen tests has been left behind for almost a month, at Christmas in order to ensure the quietest possible holidays, these are still more than claimed in pharmacies. Some tests that, however, in most cases are negative… but they do not guarantee 100% that that person is not infected, so it is convenient to repeat them if there are doubts about it.

The year 2022 began, as far as the purchase of material against covid-19 is concerned. A maximum of 2.94 euros per unit, when these had already passed their great peak in demand (where the price was much higher), which, however, has made it easier for them to continue to be purchased in pharmacies.

Only in these places available for sale to the public in Spain, contrary to the Executive’s refusal to market them in supermarkets or other establishments, … but also their veracity.

When is the best time to do an antigen test?

And it is that the antigen tests that can be carried out at home give an almost certain answer as to whether or not the organism has the presence of SARS-CoV-2. An almost 100% that, therefore, leaves open the ban that a negative can present symptoms in the following days as well as have a trace of the virus that can infect other people.

For this reason, the precise date on which a self-test must be done is in the first five days since the symptoms appeared or in the seven days since there could be close contact with another positive. At these times the and, therefore, the tracing of a covid-19 sample will be easier.

This is the date on which a test must be repeated to ensure the negative

However, either because a person’s burden is low or because purely statistically there is no presence of coronavirus in the collected sample, the antigen tests may present a negative result even though the SARS-CoV-2 organism is present. Due to this, repeat the tests on the following days if there are symptoms similar to those of a covid-19 infection or doubts about a possible positive due to the proximity to other infected patients.

In the same way, there could also be a false positive and this could be due to “contamination of the sample or other substances present in it that interfere with the test” (AEMPS).