New 'At-Home COVID Testing Kits' available at local pharmacies
REDDING, Calif. — If you've visited your pharmacy lately, you may have noticed they are now carrying at-home COVID testing kits.
These tests are really easy to use for the most part and make the process more comfortable by being in the comfort of your own home.
KRCR's Reporter Alexandria Williams looked into specifically the at-home testing kit from the brand QuickVue, which is one of the two brands you can currently find inside Walgreens in Redding.
Specifically for the QuickVue brand, the test can be done in only a few steps.
In the kit, you're given a tube filled with liquid, a nasal swab, and a test strip. According to the QuickVue website, you first open the tube with the liquid inside and swab both nostrils with the nasal swab, placing the swab into the tube.
The steps specify to swirl the swab in the tube three to four times.
After swirling, you leave it in the liquid for one minute. In the last step, you place the test strip in the liquid and you'll be given your test result in 10 minutes.
KRCR asked people in Redding if they would prefer at-home tests over the drive-thru or in-person options.
"I think if I were showing symptoms then yeah, I would opt for that at home one," Anderson resident Shauna Mounts said. "I didn't really like it, cause they're touching contaminated things anyways and you really don't see the cleaning procedures behind the scenes."
Others felt the same regarding the process of the in-person tests.
"I just have anxiety of mine getting mixed with someone else's and maybe I get a positive test when it's actually negative or vice versa," Redding resident Rhiannon Caldecott said.
For this test, if you see a blue or pink line on the test strip, this indicates a positive test. If the test strip only shows a blue line, it's negative.
The at-home testing kits run approximately $25.
Shasta County Public Health officials said these at-home testing kits are a good start if you are showing symptoms and not sure if you should go to work or send your child to school.
However, they added these are not always the most reliable compared to an in-person PCR test.
They explained some kits may have an app you can use to submit your result and the result will then be reported to public health. If it doesn't include an app, you should follow up with your healthcare provider.
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