Use of home coronavirus tests increased during the Omicron wave,


Use of home coronavirus tests increased during the winter Omicron wave in the United States, with white, high-income, and highly educated people most likely to report using the tests. An online survey of US adults suggests:.

Between 19 December and 12 March, 20.1 percent of respondents who said they had symptoms consistent with Covid-19 reported using home testing. United States.

Use of home testing increased in the fall and early winter, with the survey peaking in January, with 11 percent of respondents reporting that they had used home testing in the previous 30 days, according to the survey.

About 40 percent of home testing users said they did it because they were exposed to someone with Covid-19; 28.9 percent said they had tested themselves because they experienced Covid-like symptoms. The researchers found that tests for work, school, and travel were less common. Those who were vaccinated and supplemented were more than twice as likely to report home testing as those who were not vaccinated.

The study was led by researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Based on an online survey of over 400,000 US adults between August 23 and March 12. Participants were asked whether they had symptoms consistent with Covid, whether they had been tested for the virus in the past 30 days, and if so. , what kind of test they are using.

The results are consistent with reports of increased demand for home testing as the highly contagious Omicron variant spreads and Americans rely on self-testing as a precaution before and after holiday travel and meetings. this The availability of home tests has also increased in recent months. as manufacturers accelerate production and Biden administration started sending free tests to American households in January

Among respondents with a household income of more than $150,000 per year, 9.5 percent reported using home tests, compared with 4.7 percent of those with a household income of $50,000 to $74,999 and 3.1 percent of those with a household income of less than $15,000. Among those with a master’s degree, 8.4 percent reported home testing, compared with 3.5 percent among those with high school or less. White survey participants were twice as likely to report using the tests as Black participants. Improving education on testing and expanding access to free testing could help reduce inequalities, the researchers said.

Findings come when demand for testing drops and some states began to close public test sites. It is not clear how many of those who test positive at home report their results to health authorities or confirm their infection with follow-up PCR tests. But some experts have voiced their concerns He said a growing reliance on home testing could make it harder for authorities to track the virus.

Self-reported use of home testing began to decline last month as the number of US cases dwindled, according to the survey.



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