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Antigen tests, like the name suggests, test for antigens. An COVID-19 Antigen test basically looks for fragments of COVID-19 antigens within a person’s body to see if they’re infected with the virus.

“An antigen is a substance recognized by the body’s immune system, which can [then] respond by generating proteins called antibodies that specifically recognize that antigen,” Albert Shaw, MD, a Yale Medicine infectious disease doctor and professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine

That basically means, “the point of an antigen test is to detect the presence of a protein—the nucleocapsid protein—which is part of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that is the cause of COVID-19.” [Dr Shaw].

To do an Antigen test for COVID-19 with Epicentre, you will need to either book a test online or just pop in to one of our branches.

The way a COVID-19 Antigen test works is similar to a PCR COVID-19 test. We will have a nurse open a new Antigen Test packet. We will then use a new nasal saw to collect a nasal cavity swab. Our nurses are very gentle and whilst the test will be over quickly, we will do our best to make you feel calm and safe during the entire process.

This swab will “then be placed into a special solution for virus detection,” says Dr. Shaw.

You will then wait 20 minutes while your test ‘loads’ your results. After which we will share your result with you.

You have recently started symptoms of COVID-19

Your doctor thinks you may have the novel coronavirus and have recently started (1-3) symptoms

You have been in close contact with an individual suspected of or confirmed to have COVID-19 more than 5-7 days ago, and you want to have a quick test done to check your status

You are looking to get a test done for an official purpose such as leaving the country, having a medical procedure or flight – as this method of testing has not yet been approved for these purposes in all countries.

You have been exposed to COVID-19 and started symptoms more than 3 days ago

Antigen testing has a greater possibility of a false negative, especially if you are out of the peak infection testing times. If you are unsure of your negative test result, rather get a PCR test to be absolutely certain of your negative result.

Some countries require both a COVID-19 Antigen test and PCR test, always ask the airline what is needed for your destination country.

An Antigen Test is looking for antigen fragments, you will have the most fragments when you have the most COVID virus in your body. This stage can be seen on the graph, when the purple block is highest.

This happens when you are at your peak infectiousness 2-3 days before your symptoms start to 2-3 days after your symptoms begin.

This stage will start, 5 days after you come in contact with an infected person, when your incubation period ends; and this period when you can test ends 3 to 4 days after you start your symptoms. This can clearly be seen on the chart above, as the purple bars represent the amount of virus in your body. You can see how the amount of virus shoots up suddenly at day 0 and drops off suddenly after 3-4 days.

A Rapid COVID-19 Antigen test can help you:

Find out if you currently have COVID-19 & are highly infectious

If you need to have a very quick test to determine your COVID-19 status

For travel to some countries

The Healgen Coronavirus Ag Antigen Rapid Test

This COVID-19 Antigen test that has been approved for use in South Africa, Germany, the USA and by the UK. The accuracy of this test is 96.3%, and it has a high sensitivity and specificity. It is also CE certified.