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}) })(jQuery); </script> </head> <body class="post-template-default single single-post postid-16022 single-format-standard header-image header-full-width full-width-content genesis-breadcrumbs-hidden"><div class="site-container"><header class="site-header"><div class="wrap"><div class="title-area"><p class="site-title"><a href="https://www.thermofisher.com/" title="Thermo Fisher Scientific">Thermo Fisher Scientific</a></p><p class="site-description">Molecular testing content for clinical lab professionals and clinicians</p></div></div></header> <nav role="navigation" class="top-menu tm" style=""> <ul> <li><a href="#" aria-haspopup="true">Categories<div data-uw-styling-context="true"><b data-uw-styling-context="true"></b></div></a> <ul class="dropdown" aria-label="submenu"> <li><a href=" https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/clinical-conversations/science-and-education/">Science and education</a></li> <li><a href=" https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/clinical-conversations/product-news/">Product news</a></li> <li><a href=" https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/clinical-conversations/case-studies/">Case studies</a></li> <li><a href=" https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/clinical-conversations/perspectives/">Perspectives</a></li> <li><a href=" https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/clinical-conversations/events/">Events</a></li> <li><a href=" https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/clinical-conversations/news/">News</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </nav> <div class="site-inner"><div class="content-sidebar-wrap"><main class="content"><article class="post-16022 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail category-science-and-education tag-content-article tag-covid-19 tag-pcr entry" aria-label="Misconceptions on COVID-19 Tests Hinder Pandemic Response"><header class="entry-header"><h1 class="entry-title">Misconceptions on COVID-19 Tests Hinder Pandemic Response</h1> <script type="text/javascript"> function cc_toggle(id){ var s = document.getElementById(id); if(isHidden(s)){ s.style.display = 'inline'; } else { s.style.display = 'none'; } } function isHidden(element){ var style = window.getComputedStyle(element); return (style.display === 'none'); } </script> <span class="cc_sidebar"> <span class="cc_color_bar"> <span class="cc_home_icon"> <a href="https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/clinical-conversations/"><img src="https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/clinical-conversations/wp-content/themes/clinical-conversations/images/icon_home.png" alt="Clinical Conversation blog - home icon" /></a> </span> <span class="cc_post_category"> <a class='cc_colorbar_category' href='https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/clinical-conversations/category/science-and-education/'>Science and education</a> </span>  <span id="cc_post_readtime"> 4 mins. </span> <span class="cc_toggle_social"> <a href="javascript:cc_toggle('cc_jetpack_shares');">Sharing ▼</a> </span> <span class="cc_toggle"> <a href="javascript:cc_toggle('cc_metadata');">Details ▼</a> </span> </span> </span> <span id="cc_jetpack_shares"> <ul> <li><a target="_blank" href='https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thermofisher.com%2Fblog%2Fclinical-conversations%2Fmisconceptions-on-covid-19-tests-hinder-pandemic-response%2F&title=Misconceptions+on+COVID-19+Tests+Hinder+Pandemic+Response'><img src="https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/clinical-conversations//wp-content/themes/clinical-conversations/images/social_icons_linkedin.jpg" alt="Linked In sharing icon" /></a></li> <li><a target="_blank" href='https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thermofisher.com%2Fblog%2Fclinical-conversations%2Fmisconceptions-on-covid-19-tests-hinder-pandemic-response%2F'><img src="https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/clinical-conversations//wp-content/themes/clinical-conversations/images/social_icons_facebook.jpg" alt="Facebook sharing icon" /></a></li> <li><a target="_blank" href='https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Misconceptions+on+COVID-19+Tests+Hinder+Pandemic+Response&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thermofisher.com%2Fblog%2Fclinical-conversations%2Fmisconceptions-on-covid-19-tests-hinder-pandemic-response%2F&'><img src="https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/clinical-conversations//wp-content/themes/clinical-conversations/images/social_icons_twitter.jpg" alt="Twitter sharing icon" /></a></li> <li><a href='mailto:?subject=You might be interested in Misconceptions on COVID-19 Tests Hinder Pandemic Response from the Clinical Conversations blog.&body=You might be interested in Misconceptions on COVID-19 Tests Hinder Pandemic Response from the Clinical Conversations blog at https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thermofisher.com%2Fblog%2Fclinical-conversations%2Fmisconceptions-on-covid-19-tests-hinder-pandemic-response%2F'><img src="https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/clinical-conversations/wp-content/themes/clinical-conversations/images/icon_email.png" alt="Email sharing icon" /></a></li> </ul> </span> <span id="cc_metadata"> <span class="cc_dateline"> <span class="post-info-date">  13 Dec 2021 </span> || <span class="post-info-author">   By Manoj Gandhi, M.D., Ph.D. </span> </span> <span class="cc_shares"> <span class="cc_shares_subhead" >Shares: <span class="share_count">30</span> </span> </span> <span class="cc_version"> <span class="cc_version_subhead">Versions of this article</span> Original article. </span> <span class="cc_post_tags"> <span class="cc_post_tags_subhead">Tags</span> <a href='https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/clinical-conversations/tag/covid-19/'>COVID-19</a>, <a href='https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/clinical-conversations/tag/pcr/'>PCR</a> </span>   </span> <script type="text/javascript"> cc_toggle('cc_metadata'); cc_toggle('cc_jetpack_shares'); </script> </header><div class="entry-content"><p class="selectionShareable" data-uw-styling-context="true">For over a year and a half, the world has learned to adjust to living in a pandemic. Vaccines, variants and mandates have altered the course of COVID-19, but experts stress that ongoing safety measures, including testing and surveillance, remain critical to ending the public health crisis<a href="https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/ask-a-scientist/misconceptions-on-covid-19-tests-hinder-pandemic-response/#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" data-uw-styling-context="true" data-uw-rm-brl="false">[1]</a>. Yet聽<a href="https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/ask-a-scientist/delta-surge-covid-test-habits/" data-uw-styling-context="true" data-uw-rm-brl="false">a new online survey</a>聽of more than 3,000 residents of the United States and the United Kingdom show misconceptions about COVID-19 testing may be hindering the pandemic response.</p> <h2 data-uw-styling-context="true">Antigen Tests vs PCR Tests</h2> <p class="selectionShareable" data-uw-styling-context="true">Since COVID-19 tests first came to market, widespread public education efforts have demonstrated that some tests are more accurate than others. Notably, studies have shown that antigen tests have lower sensitivity and increased risk of false-negative results than PCR tests, the gold standard for diagnostic testing<a href="https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/ask-a-scientist/misconceptions-on-covid-19-tests-hinder-pandemic-response/#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" data-uw-rm-brl="false"><sup data-uw-styling-context="true">[2]</sup></a>. Yet聽more than half of Americans聽(56%) and nearly half of Britons (48%) believe聽it doesn鈥檛 matter what kind of test they get, as they believe that they are all equally accurate.</p> <p class="selectionShareable" data-uw-styling-context="true">Americans remain largely unaware of the聽<a href="https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/clinical/clinical-genomics/pathogen-detection-solutions/covid-19-sars-cov-2/pcr-antigen-testing-technologies.html" data-uw-styling-context="true" data-uw-rm-brl="false">differences between antigen and PCR tests</a>; only 30% say they know the difference between the two. Interestingly, test awareness has actually dropped since earlier this year, as a聽<a href="https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/ask-a-scientist/a-tale-of-two-countries-misconceptions-about-covid-19-testing-and-transmission-persist-in-the-united-states-and-the-united-kingdom/" data-uw-styling-context="true" data-uw-rm-brl="false">survey this past February</a>聽found 36% of Americans could differentiate between a COVID-19 PCR and antigen test. This trend is reversed in the U.K., where only 32% of adults knew the difference between antigen and PCR tests in February鈥檚 survey, but in the September survey, nearly half (47%) said they know the difference.</p> <p class="selectionShareable" data-uw-styling-context="true">Notably, when asked to choose between a more accurate test with a longer turn-around time to results or a faster test that may be less accurate,聽the majority of聽people would choose accuracy (63% in the U.S. and 66% in the U.K.).聽The results indicate that if people were more aware of the differences between tests it could influence their testing choices.</p> <h2><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-801" src="https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/ask-a-scientist/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2021/11/1626532726-huge-1024x690.jpg" alt="a planet with a red line on it" width="760" height="512" data-uw-rm-ima="ai" /></h2> <h2 data-uw-styling-context="true">Mask Mandates, Vaccinations, and Breakthrough Infections</h2> <p class="selectionShareable" data-uw-styling-context="true">Lack of awareness on available tests may be impacting testing behavior as far as what tests people are choosing. More concerning, misperceptions about testing may actually be preventing people from getting tested at all.</p> <p class="selectionShareable" data-uw-styling-context="true">The number one reason for not testing is because of vaccination status. According to the survey, about a third of U.S. adults (34%) and one in four adults in the U.K. (25%) believe that they only need to be tested if they have not been vaccinated. However, 69% of U.S. adults and 63% of U.K. adults are concerned about the effectiveness of vaccines in protecting against breakthrough infections.</p> <p class="selectionShareable" data-uw-styling-context="true">Another reason people aren鈥檛 getting tested: the misbelief that they only need to get tested when they are symptomatic. Almost half (45%) of people in the U.S. agree that you only need to get tested if you are sick, despite research showing that one out of every four COVID-19 cases may be asymptomatic<a href="https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/ask-a-scientist/misconceptions-on-covid-19-tests-hinder-pandemic-response/#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" data-uw-styling-context="true" data-uw-rm-brl="false">[3]</a>.</p> <p class="selectionShareable" data-uw-styling-context="true">In addition, as states and countries adjust social distancing and mask mandates, many believe these precautions are enough to not get tested. Almost half of U.S. adults (48%) and a third of U.K. adults (34%) believe that if they聽take other measures, such as聽social distancing or聽wearing a mask, there is no need to get a COVID-19 test. Even though wearing a mask and social distancing can be effective methods to prevent the spread of COVID-19, those measures are most effective when聽<em data-uw-styling-context="true">everyone</em>聽is correctly adhering to these guidelines and can鈥檛 stop infection 100% of the time聽<a href="https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/ask-a-scientist/misconceptions-on-covid-19-tests-hinder-pandemic-response/#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" data-uw-styling-context="true" data-uw-rm-brl="false">[4]</a>.</p> <h2 data-uw-styling-context="true">Understanding the Misconceptions</h2> <p class="selectionShareable" data-uw-styling-context="true">While COVID-19 testing misperceptions persist, science tells us that testing remains a critical tool to track and monitor infection rates around the globe. One positive statistic from the survey: testing rates are slowly rising. In the U.S., nearly two-thirds (58%) of adults have been tested at least once, up from 40% in February. These numbers are even higher in the U.K., where 68% of adults have been tested at least once, up from 33% in February.</p> <p class="selectionShareable" data-uw-styling-context="true">To learn about Thermo Fisher Scientific鈥檚 COVID-19 Testing Solutions, please visit聽<a href="https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/clinical/clinical-genomics/pathogen-detection-solutions/covid-19-sars-cov-2.html" data-uw-styling-context="true" data-uw-rm-brl="false">thermofisher.com/covid19</a>.</p> <h2 data-uw-styling-context="true">Methodology</h2> <p class="selectionShareable" data-uw-styling-context="true">The survey was conducted online by Regina Corso Consulting on behalf of Thermo Fisher Scientific between September 8 and 13, 2021 among 2,021 U.S. residents and 1,017 U.K. residents ages 18 and older. Samples were balanced by age, gender, region, education and income to be representative of both countries as a whole. Earlier surveys (also by Regina Corso Consulting on behalf of Thermo Fisher) were conducted between Nov. 23 and 25, 2020 in the U.S. and February 4 and 8, 2021 in the U.S. and the U.K.</p> <p class="selectionShareable"><a href="https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/ask-a-scientist/misconceptions-on-covid-19-tests-hinder-pandemic-response/#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" data-uw-styling-context="true" data-uw-rm-brl="false">[1]</a>聽<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2781169" data-uw-styling-context="true" data-uw-rm-brl="false">https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2781169</a></p> <p class="selectionShareable"><a href="https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/ask-a-scientist/misconceptions-on-covid-19-tests-hinder-pandemic-response/#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" data-uw-styling-context="true" data-uw-rm-brl="false">[2]</a>聽<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8444381/" data-uw-styling-context="true" data-uw-rm-brl="false">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8444381/</a></p> <p class="selectionShareable"><a href="https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/ask-a-scientist/misconceptions-on-covid-19-tests-hinder-pandemic-response/#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" data-uw-styling-context="true" data-uw-rm-brl="false">[3]</a>聽<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0249090" data-uw-styling-context="true" data-uw-rm-brl="false">https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0249090</a></p> <p class="selectionShareable"><a href="https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/ask-a-scientist/misconceptions-on-covid-19-tests-hinder-pandemic-response/#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" data-uw-styling-context="true" data-uw-rm-brl="false">[4]</a>聽<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover-guidance.html" data-uw-styling-context="true" data-uw-rm-brl="false">https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/cloth-face-cover-guidance.html</a></p>  </div></article></main></div></div><footer class="site-footer"><div class="wrap"><div class="creds"><p class="footer-links"><a href="https://corporate.thermofisher.com/en/footer/privacy-statement.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Privacy Statement</a><a href="https://corporate.thermofisher.com/en/footer/terms-and-conditions.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Terms & Conditions</a><a href="/blog/locations/">Locations</a><a href="/blog/sitemap/">Sitemap</a></p><p>© 2024 <a href="https://www.thermofisher.com">Thermo Fisher Scientific</a>. 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