Updated: 4:50 PM EDT May 13, 2021
Jeff Rossen
Chief National Consumer Correspondent
Summer 2021 is going to be chock-full of concerts, ballgames and parties.Some of you are going back into the office. To do all of those things, you may need proof of a negative COVID-19 test. Getting a test usually meant going into a clinic, waiting in line and then waiting to get your results. Now, stores are stocking the shelves with at-home test kits.They’re over-the-counter, so there’s no prescription or appointment needed. They’re inexpensive and fast, getting you results in minutes. Video above: Our Chief National Consumer Correspondent Jeff Rossen is testing out two at-home test kits to see how they work.Abbott Laboratories’ BinaxNOW KitThis kit costs around $24 and has two tests inside. This kit has two for serial testing, when you test yourself multiple times on a routine basis. Abbott says by testing more frequently, you may detect COVID-19 more quickly. The test includes a nasal swab, a dropper with processing fluid inside and the test card itself. The instructions have you use the dropper to put six drops of solution on the test card. You then take the swab and stick it up your nostril about half to three-fourths of an inch up your nose. Five big circles in each nostril — and the hard part is over!Once the swab is in the card, you wait 15 minutes. The test card will have a window on top that will tell you your results. If you’re COVID-19 positive, the window will show two pink or purple lines. (Even if one is super faint.) If just the control line turned pink or purple, you’re COVID-19 negative.Abbott says this test has 84.6% accuracy for detecting positive results and 98.5% accuracy for detecting negative results.Most importantly, the test is 95.6% accurate in detecting positives in people with higher viral loads who are more likely to be infectious. Ellume Test KitThis kit costs $39 and takes the testing up a notch. It all works on an app on your smartphone. It comes with a nasal swab (that has a plastic adaptor for kids), a dropper, processing fluid and a small Bluetooth-connected device that analyzes your sample and syncs with the app you download onto your smartphone. For this kit, you watch an instructional video and then you follow along with the app as it walks you through the steps. First, the app will ask you for some information. You can put in your name and email if you’d like to be emailed results, but it’s not required.The only information that is required is your birthday, zip code and state. If you test positive, Ellume says that information is shared with local health authorities. But the company says your precise location is not tracked and shared.Then you follow the instructions, emptying the processing fluid into the dropper and swabbing inside both nostrils, three circles in each. This kit’s instructions say the cap should touch your nose, that’s how you know how far to insert the swab. The swab gets screwed onto the dropper and you place five drops into the port on the analyzer. The app counts down 15 minutes and will come up with a negative or a positive result. Ellume says the test correctly identified 96% of positive samples and 100% of negative samples in individuals with symptoms. In people without symptoms, the test correctly identified 91% of positive samples and 96% of negative samples. Both tests have been granted emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration. Where can you buy these kits?You can get the BinaxNOW antigen test kit at CVS, Sam’s Club, Walgreens and Walmart, both in-store and online.The Ellume test kit is becoming more widely available at CVS stores and online. We asked Dr. Amesh Adalja with the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security about these test kits. He believes they are reliable and useful if you’re screening yourself to see if you’re potentially contagious to others or if you have symptoms similar to COVID-19."What you want these tests to do is tell you; are you going to be safe around other people?" Dr. Adalja says. "I can envision home tests being used to facilitate activities like youth sports or youth musical theater groups or any type of youth activity where people are not able to be vaccinated. This is going to be something that makes these activities much safer and gives people peace of mind."