Two types of COVID-19 tests, the rapid antigen test and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, are available in the United States. The PCR typically relies on lab testing and is still considered ...

Researchers often call the polymerase chain reaction test – known as the PCR test – "the gold standard" for detecting the COVID-19 virus. The test is considered highly reliable and effective, and it ...

If you had COVID-19 symptoms in 2020, you probably would have masked up and braved a visit to a laboratory, doctor’s office, or clinic to get a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. A health care ...

At the start of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic people who felt unwell had to join long queues for lab-based PCR tests and then wait for two days to learn if they were infected with the COVID-19 virus or not.

Over the past four years, many of us have become accustomed to a swab up the nose to test for COVID-19, using at-home rapid antigen tests or the more accurate clinic-provided PCR tests with a longer ...