BinaxNOW : COVID-19

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The Biden administration has purchased a billion COVID-19 rapid test kits and are distributing them free for those who want to do the tests at home. We put in our request on the day the program went live and just received an email saying to expect the kits next week.

While we do not know which kits will be sent to us, we have some familiarity with home-test-kits, and they all follow the same basic steps:

• swap the nose w/a cotton-tipped stick,
• test the sample,
• read the result.

Below is our experience of those steps test using the Abbott Labs BinaxNOW kit. This kit is widely available and easy to use. While we (fortunately) have not had any positive results, we present the steps here so that those who have not done it will know what to expect when they take their first at-home test.

Get vaccinated, stay safe, and we’ll see you on the other side of this pandemic.

BinaxNOW

Abbott’s BinaxNOW self-test is based on the antigen-test method, meaning that the test uses specific antibodies that recognize bits specific to a particular virus.

For more details on this method, The Conversation has an  excellent article on it.

• COVID-19 Antigen Self Test is a lateral flow immunoassay
• Detects both asymptomatic and symptomatic COVID-19
• Qualitative detection of nucleocapsid protein antigen from SARS-CoV-2
• Status in 15 minutes

Kit

The kit is very well, um, kitted out, and not just full of words. The images proved extremely helpful when we were trying to determine what our results were telling us.

There were two of everything—one for each test in the kit—and everything was properly packaged/contained.

• Swabs (2)
• Dropper bottles (2)
• Test Cards (2) in individual pouches

We laid everything out, in the order they would be used, so that we could understand how the parts worked together.

Before opening any of the items, we took our time understanding how to read the results.

We removed the test card from the sealed pouch, and located both the sample reservoir, and the test result window.

1. Open the Prep Kit

2. Take the Sample

3. Perform the Test

4. Read the Results

We admit that we were a little hazy at first regarding our results: What color is the line? Does that look pink or purple? How many lines are there? but we got there in the end (after maybe three minutes of checking our actual results with the examples in the kit). Also, too, we were just a little anxious to know whether we actually might have COVID (it seems that the human brain is okay with thinking something but a little worried about knowing something). We tested negative, are fully vaccinated/booster-ed, and will continue to follow the recommendations of PROFESSIONALS.

If you have some vision challenges, you should absolutely have someone look at the test results with you.

Overall, though, we thought this was a very-well organized and simply explained test. We are happy this administration has taken this pandemic seriously, and wants the nation to be as safe and knowledgeable as they can make it.