Some people with omicron or its subvariants aren't testing positive right away, even with symptoms. Here are few theories why.
, a microbiologist at Yale School of Public Health, said we don’t have accurate estimates on this because the“It is where omicron is first detectable, which is why people continue to test negative for days with nasal swabs, yet [are] exhibiting symptoms,” Wyllie said. Buthave specifically looked at this and found that omicron is everywhere — the throat, the nose, our saliva — and oral swabs, though useful, are no better than nasal swabs.
“We think that perhaps a person that’s recently boosted might be prone to having lower sensitivity — but that’s still our hypothesis,” Lam said. “People who have higher viral loads in their nose and in their head cavities are definitely going to be more likely to be positive on an antigen test,” Hafer said.
Lastly, there’s likely some human error involved. Some may not swab deep enough or enough times, which would impact how much virus a swab collects.The tests also work best with serial testing, or testing over multiple days. This gives the viral load the opportunity to build up and reach levels that are detectable on a rapid test, Lam said. On average, PCR tests — which are much more sensitive — show positive results about two days before rapid tests.
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