Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. For Rachel Robles, getting diagnosed with Long COVID was an uphill battle. She caught the virus in March 2020, when nearly nothing ...

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and rapid (antigen) tests for COVID-19 both involve taking a swab. Results for a PCR test take longer, as it needs to go to a laboratory. It is more costly but tends to ...

COVID-19 tests are in greater demand than ever, and new data about the Omicron variant can make picking and using different types of tests confusing. Molecular tests for COVID-19, like the "RT-PCR" ...

Since its global emergence over a year ago, the PCR test – a molecular test that diagnoses infection by detecting genetic material – has been used to distinguish the COVID-19 positives from the ...

A PCR test is often considered the gold standard for detecting coronavirus infection. It’s the test some employers want employees to take before returning to work after having Covid-19, and the one ...

There are three different ways to test for COVID-19: PCR tests, antigen tests and antibody tests. Each method is best for a different stage of COVID-19 infection. Used in sequence, all three methods ...

No one is really excited about a nasal swab or spitting in a tube, but now that testing has become the next front in the war against COVID-19, rapid tests (now available for free through ...

Every American traveling abroad needs to take an antigen test to return to the United States. But the start of the trip is often even more cumbersome, as many other countries (nearly every one I have ...

A widely shared claim on social media has brought the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's decision to retire its PCR test for COVID-19 back into the spotlight. "CDC Withdraws Use of PCR Test ...