COVID-19 Tests Check for COVID-19 Specifically

According to John’s Hopkins Medicine, there are two types of testing for COVID-19. One is a viral test, also known as a diagnostic test. It can tell you if you are currently infected with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. This is the test you will receive if your doctor refers you for a COVID-19 test based on your symptoms and other factors. It would most likely happen with a swab in your throat or nose. 

The other type of test is an antibody test. An antibody test can show if you were previously exposed to or infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, and if your body has created antibodies in an attempt to defend itself. It takes at least 12 days after exposure for your body to make enough antibodies to show up on a test. This test would most likely be a blood test. 

The original Facebook user may have confused the antibody and diagnostic tests. It is true, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), that a positive test result from the antibody test can show you have antibodies from an infection from the virus that causes COVID-19. It can also show you have antibodies from an infection with a different virus from the same family of viruses (called coronaviruses). However, other coronaviruses cannot produce a positive result on a viral test for COVID-19. 

What someday may add to the confusion though is that the CDC has developed a new laboratory test that identifies SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, that also tests for influenza A and B viruses. Testing for all three viruses at the same time will provide public health officials with information they need to help reduce the spread of these viruses in the community while conserving resources that are in short supply.

For now, however, the diagnostic tests for COVID-19 will not show a positive for all viruses in the coronavirus family.