COLUMBUS, Ohio — As the omicron variant continues to spread, many people are turning to home testing. But Dr. Joseph Gastaldo from OhioHealth expects not everyone is reporting their results, so he said the number of cases being reported is probably lower.
”I would say anywhere from 5 to 10% lower than what we really are,” he said.
PCR tests are required to be reported to your local and state health department. Dr. Gastaldo said it's important to report your results from your home test to your local health department because it helps health officials determine when variants peak.
But that's not all that Dr. Gastaldo said could be contributing to likely lower numbers.
“What we are seeing, because of barriers to get a PCR test or the lack of access to home antigen test, there are people who are probably symptomatic, have [an] infection, who are not getting tested,” he said.
Dr. Gastaldo also says it's important to know the difference between the different types of covid testing and what they tell you....
“When you have a home antigen test it lets you know if you are contagious. The other form of testing that we have is PCR testing. PCR testing is more sensitive, however, you can be PCR positive without being transmissible or contagious, that's not true with home antigen test,” Dr. Gastaldo said.
The omicron variant continues to spread across central Ohio, as the percentage of tests coming back positive has continued to be on the rise since earlier this month. Back on Dec. 8, the 7-day average of the percentage of tests coming back positive was 14%. Tuesday, that average is just under 25%.
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