Point-of-Care Antigen Test for SARS-CoV-2 in Asymptomatic College Students
Sarah C. Tinker, Christine M. Szablewski, Anastasia P. Litvintseva, Cherie Drenzek, Gary E. Voccio, Melissa A. Hunter, Steve Briggs, Debbie E. Heida, Jennifer Folster, Patricia L. Shewmaker, Magdalena Medrzycki, Michael D. Bowen, Caitlin Bohannon, Dennis A. Bagarozzi, Marla Petway, Paul A. Rota, Wendi Kuhnert-Tallman, Natalie J. Thornburg, Jessica L. Prince-Guerra, Lisa C. Barrios, Azaibi Tamin, Jennifer L. Harcourt, Margaret A. Honein, CDC Sample Collection Team,1
Abstract
We used the BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card to screen 1,540 asymptomatic college students for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in a low-prevalence setting. Compared with reverse transcription PCR, BinaxNOW showed 20% overall sensitivity; among participants with culturable virus, sensitivity was 60%. BinaxNOW provides point-of-care screening but misses many infections.