{"id":15099,"date":"2022-02-09T15:45:12","date_gmt":"2022-02-09T21:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=15099"},"modified":"2025-05-09T09:33:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T14:33:31","slug":"pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"PCR vs. rapid COVID-19 test: What\u2019s the difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Getting tested if you\u2019re experiencing symptoms or have been exposed to COVID-19 is the first step against stopping the spread of the virus.<\/p>\n<h2>When to test for COVID<\/h2>\n<div class=\"alignright cta\">\n<p>Schedule a COVID-19 test<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/covid19\/testing\/\">Find a location near you<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Knowing when to test for COVID is important.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If you have\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/osfhealthcare.org\/covid19\">symptoms<\/a>, test immediately.<\/li>\n<li>If you were exposed to COVID-19 and are not experiencing any symptoms, wait at least five days after your exposure before testing. If you test too early, you may be more likely to get an inaccurate result.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you test positive for COVID-19, isolate and take <a href=\"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19\/\">precautions<\/a> to protect others from getting infected.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tell people you had recent contact with that they\u00a0may have been exposed.<\/li>\n<li>Monitor your\u00a0symptoms. If you have experience serious illness, seek emergency care immediately.<\/li>\n<li>Consider contacting your health care provider to learn about\u00a0that you may qualify to receive. Treatment must be started within several days after you first develop symptoms to be effective<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Types of COVID-19 tests<\/h2>\n<p>There are two types of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/covid\/testing\/index.html\">COVID-19 tests<\/a>: the\u00a0polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and the antigen test, known as the rapid test. Both tests require a sample from the patient, usually a nasal swab.<\/p>\n<h2>PCR test<\/h2>\n<h3>How it works<\/h3>\n<p>The PCR test takes a sample of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and \u201camplifies\u201d it with the help of lab technologies. Amplifying RNA helps to make even small traces of the COVID-19 virus visible in the test sample. Even if you have a small trace of the virus in your system, the PCR test will detect it.<\/p>\n<h3>Benefits<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cPCR tests are more reliable and accurate due to testing the specific genetic material of the virus, eliminating the interference from other viruses,\u201d said Heather Seyko, a Laboratory Services manager for OSF HealthCare.<\/p>\n<h3>Drawbacks<\/h3>\n<p>While a PCR test is the preferred method of detecting COVID-19, it must be done by a health care provider. These tests don\u2019t produce immediate results, which means you may be waiting a few days to know if you\u2019re positive or negative.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/\">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a>\u00a0notes while tests are best used early in the course of illness to diagnose COVID-19, they can\u2019t evaluate the duration of infectiousness. PCR tests sometimes can stay positive for weeks after you\u2019ve had COVID. This is because the PCR test is so sensitive it can detect even dead virus.<\/p>\n<h2>Antigen test<\/h2>\n<h3>How it works<\/h3>\n<p>The rapid test, called an antigen test, checks for proteins that are found on the outside of the virus.<\/p>\n<p>The antigen test mimics what antibodies do.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/healthlibrary.osfhealthcare.org\/Search\/90,P01665\">Antibodies<\/a>\u00a0are the \u201cgood guys\u201d that attach to the antigen protein (the \u201cbad guys\u201d) and fight the virus. When you give your nasal swab sample, it\u2019s put into a liquid and then onto a test strip.<\/p>\n<p>The test strip acts like an antibody \u2013 if there are any COVID-19 antigen \u201cbad guys\u201d in your system, the molecules in the liquid will attach to those antigens, and a line will appear on the test strip. This means you\u2019re positive for COVID-19. If there are no antigens detected in your system, the liquid doesn\u2019t respond and no line will appear, often meaning you are negative for the virus.<\/p>\n<h3>Benefits<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Results in about 15 minutes<\/li>\n<li>Easy enough to do on your own at home. There\u2019s always a little room for user error, but as long as you closely follow the directions, anyone can test themselves with an antigen test.<\/li>\n<li>Helps slow the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/healthlibrary.osfhealthcare.org\/MultimediaRoom\/VideoLibrary\/?e=0#player:198,t4337\">spread of contagious viruses<\/a> like COVID-19 with quicker results<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Drawbacks<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cUnlike the PCR test, the antigen test can only determine if you have an active virus in your body. The rapid test can\u2019t detect small amounts of the virus or asymptomatic cases as accurately as the PCR test can,\u201d Heather said.<\/p>\n<p>So how accurate are home COVID-19 tests? The rapid test is less accurate and there is a greater chance for a false negative, not a false positive. The test only picks up if the virus is active in your body, meaning asymptomatic cases. If someone doesn\u2019t have any symptoms, those cases \u00a0are harder to identify with the antigen test.<\/p>\n<h2>Choosing a PCR or antigen test<\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re visiting a health care provider to get tested, it\u2019s likely you won\u2019t get to choose which test you get. This is for a few reasons. First, it could just be a matter of what test is readily available or in greater supply. Second, tests are chosen based on probability of having the virus.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPCR would be chosen where there is a low likelihood of having the virus, but we want to be certain the patient doesn\u2019t have it. Antigen would be chosen if there is a high probability the patient has the virus (i.e. is\u00a0experiencing symptoms), and we need to screen the patient as positive or negative,\u201d Heather said.<\/p>\n<p>Getting tested is an important part of\u00a0slowing the spread of COVID-19. With more accurate results, PCR tests are the preferred way to go, but antigen tests work for rapid results, as well.<\/p>\n<h2>Antibody testing<\/h2>\n<p>Antibody testing\u00a0is also available and is designed to identify people who have recovered from the virus.<\/p>\n<p>An antibody test could yield two results:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>If you test positive for antibodies<\/strong>, this means you have been previously infected with COVID-19, and you have recovered. This does not necessarily mean you are immune from contracting the virus again.<\/li>\n<li><strong>If you test negative for antibodies<\/strong>, this means the lab could not detect antibodies for COVID-19. This means you are still susceptible to the virus.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Your provider might recommend this blood test if you have previously shown symptoms and want to know if they were caused by COVID-19.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to testing for COVID-19, there are two types of tests that are popular: the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and the antigen test, a.k.a. the rapid test. But what test is the best?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":15102,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[969,735],"tags":[974,985],"coauthors":[1051],"class_list":["post-15099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-covid-19","category-preventive-health","tag-infection-prevention","tag-testing"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>PCR vs. rapid COVID-19 test: What\u2019s the difference?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Testing is one of our best defenses against stopping the spread of COVID-19, but which kind of test is the best?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PCR vs. rapid COVID-19 test: What\u2019s the difference?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Testing is one of our best defenses against stopping the spread of COVID-19, but which kind of test is the best?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OSF HealthCare Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/osfhealthcare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-02-09T21:45:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-09T14:33:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_1679635414-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"632\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katie Faley\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"PCR vs. rapid COVID-19 test: What\u2019s the difference?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Testing is one of our best defenses against stopping the spread of COVID-19, but which kind of test is the best?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_1679635414-2.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@osfhealthcare\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@osfhealthcare\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Katie Faley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/\",\"name\":\"PCR vs. rapid COVID-19 test: What\u2019s the difference?\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_1679635414.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-09T21:45:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-09T14:33:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bc2dbf158eb9b99f4767d395620eca6d\"},\"description\":\"Testing is one of our best defenses against stopping the spread of COVID-19, but which kind of test is the best?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_1679635414.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_1679635414.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":632,\"caption\":\"Positive test result by using rapid test device for COVID-19 virus, novel coronavirus 2019 found in Wuhan, China\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"PCR vs. rapid COVID-19 test: What\u2019s the difference?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"OSF HealthCare Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bc2dbf158eb9b99f4767d395620eca6d\",\"name\":\"Katie Faley\",\"description\":\"Katie Faley is a Writing Coordinator for OSF HealthCare. She graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in English Studies. Before joining OSF HealthCare in 2021, she worked in magazine editing, digital marketing and freelance writing. Katie is often found listening to \u201860s folk music, deciding on a new skill to learn, losing track of time in a library or spending time with her family and friends.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/author\/kfaley\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"PCR vs. rapid COVID-19 test: What\u2019s the difference?","description":"Testing is one of our best defenses against stopping the spread of COVID-19, but which kind of test is the best?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"PCR vs. rapid COVID-19 test: What\u2019s the difference?","og_description":"Testing is one of our best defenses against stopping the spread of COVID-19, but which kind of test is the best?","og_url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/","og_site_name":"OSF HealthCare Blog","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/osfhealthcare","article_published_time":"2022-02-09T21:45:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-05-09T14:33:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":632,"url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_1679635414-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Katie Faley","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"PCR vs. rapid COVID-19 test: What\u2019s the difference?","twitter_description":"Testing is one of our best defenses against stopping the spread of COVID-19, but which kind of test is the best?","twitter_image":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_1679635414-2.jpg","twitter_creator":"@osfhealthcare","twitter_site":"@osfhealthcare","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Katie Faley","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/","url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/","name":"PCR vs. rapid COVID-19 test: What\u2019s the difference?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_1679635414.jpg","datePublished":"2022-02-09T21:45:12+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-09T14:33:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bc2dbf158eb9b99f4767d395620eca6d"},"description":"Testing is one of our best defenses against stopping the spread of COVID-19, but which kind of test is the best?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_1679635414.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_1679635414.jpg","width":1200,"height":632,"caption":"Positive test result by using rapid test device for COVID-19 virus, novel coronavirus 2019 found in Wuhan, China"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/pcr-vs-rapid-covid-19-test-whats-the-difference\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"PCR vs. rapid COVID-19 test: What\u2019s the difference?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/","name":"OSF HealthCare Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bc2dbf158eb9b99f4767d395620eca6d","name":"Katie Faley","description":"Katie Faley is a Writing Coordinator for OSF HealthCare. She graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in English Studies. Before joining OSF HealthCare in 2021, she worked in magazine editing, digital marketing and freelance writing. Katie is often found listening to \u201860s folk music, deciding on a new skill to learn, losing track of time in a library or spending time with her family and friends.","url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/author\/kfaley\/"}]}},"modified_by":"Wilma Matheney","featured_image_url":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/shutterstock_1679635414.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/122"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15099"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15099\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19174,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15099\/revisions\/19174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15099"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=15099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}