Upper Chesapeake Conducting Antigen Test Trials: Official

BEL AIR, MD — Upper Chesapeake Medical Center is conducting trials for a rapid coronavirus test, according to the chief of infectious diseases for the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health.

The hospital in Bel Air is trying out an antigen test, according to Dr. Faheem Younus, chief of infectious diseases at the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake.

"Typically it's a nasal swab," he said. Use of the antigen test is designed for those who are having symptoms of the coronavirus.

The antigen test is inexpensive and yields results within 15 minutes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

"It's like a pregnancy test," Younus said.

While there are inaccuracies, the way to correct them is by repeating the test, which is what Upper Chesapeake Medical Center is doing, Younus told the Harford County Council at its Tuesday night virtual meeting.

The CDC advises using the test when someone is symptomatic or has had exposure to someone who has the coronavirus. Due to the ability to quickly identify who has the virus, the CDC recommends using the antigen test in congregate settings, to allow institutions to get a handle on infection control.

The test looks for a specific protein associated with the coronavirus and can quickly identify who has it. However, it may not capture all people who have the virus, so if someone tests negative, the Food & Drug Administration recommends getting another test, which could take longer to process.

"Positive results from antigen tests are highly accurate, but there is a higher chance of false negatives, so negative results do not rule out infection," according to the Food & Drug Administration. "With this in mind, negative results from an antigen test may need to be confirmed with a PCR [polymerase chain reaction] test prior to making treatment decisions or to prevent the possible spread of the virus due to a false negative."

That said, the FDA said the introduction of the antigen test to the public could be a useful tool in surveillance nationwide.

"Antigen tests are also important in the overall response against COVID-19 as they can generally be produced at a lower cost than PCR tests and once multiple manufacturers enter the market, can potentially scale to test millions of Americans per day due to their simpler design, helping our country better identify infection rates closer to real time," the FDA reported.

"It's not available broadly," Younus said. "We are fortunate to be trying it in the hospital."