Antigen test results are still not included in the total number of Covid-19 cases for some states – not even as probable cases, as recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Five states – California, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri and Nevada – publicly report only cases confirmed with PCR tests in their online scores, according to a CNN analysis of the Department of Health’s dashboards in all 50 state.
Some states only report the results of polymerase chain reaction tests in their Covid-19 case numbers and exclude the results of antigen tests, as antigen tests are generally considered less accurate. But as antigen testing arrives in the United States, this exclusion could lead to possible miscalculations.
“Antigen tests are relatively inexpensive, and most can be used in terms of care. Most of the tests currently approved yield results within about 15 minutes,” according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but also note that it generally less sensitive than other types of tests.
In California, CNN, for example, was told that the antigen Covid-19 test results should be reported to local health departments and the California Department of Public Health. However, publicly reported Covid-19 test data only reflect the results of diagnostic tests that detect the coronavirus’ genetic material, such as PCR – polymerase chain reaction tests.
CNN requested antigen test data from the state’s Department of Public Health, but in an email was told that “the results of antigen tests are not currently being reported publicly in the country.”
Across the four remaining states, the data they shared with CNN represents about 10,000 positive Covid-19 antigen test results shown in January over just a few samples.
If it is added to the number of cases reported, the positive antigen test results will increase the Covid-19 cases, which were reported to be between 5% and 50% at that time, according to CNN’s analysis.
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