It's hard to know when you should rapid-test yourself during this confusing point in the pandemic. Only when you’re feeling sick? Before or after you travel (or both)? When you’re preparing to socialize with others? There are no fixed rules, so I talked to a handful of infectious-disease experts to determine how they use the tests in their own households. Here’s some of what they told me.
When they feel sick: Clearly, any time you have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 is a good time to test yourself. But while taking a test immediately is fine, one negative test may not be sufficient to rule out an infection. Thomas Briese, associate professor of epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, warns that symptoms can appear before a person's viral load is high enough for a home test to detect it. “After a negative test,” he said, “I tend to re-test maybe a day or two later.”
When they travel: With no mask mandates on planes and many other forms of mass transportation, it’s potentially easier than ever to pick up COVID-19 in transit. For that reason, Carlos del Rio, professor of infectious disease at Emory University in Atlanta, brings tests with him on all of his journeys. “When I’m traveling, I’ll test myself two or three days after I arrive at my destination,” he says. “Then I’ll do the same after I arrive home.”
When they socialize: Del Rio always tests himself before gathering with a large group of people, especially if the get-together is going to be indoors. When Michael Mina—former assistant professor of epidemiology at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and now chief science officer at the home-testing company eMed—has visitors, he asks them to test themselves. “We allow people to come in, and we don’t make a big thing about it,” he says. “We just say keep your mask on and test right before you come in, and then just let it sit for 10 minutes. We all feel a lot more comfortable knowing that everyone is negative.”
During surges: When COVID-19 cases are on the rise, it pays to be particularly vigilant. During surges, Mina and his family test on average once a week, even if no one is showing symptoms. Briese sees children as a special area of concern here, since they spend their days in school around so many other kids and in general have more extensive social contacts than adults. Even if there is no known case of COVID-19 in a child’s social circle, the risk of transmission exists, especially during a surge. “It might make some sense to test children on a more regular basis,” he says.
More than 540 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 3 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 6.3 million people have died. On June 22, there were more than 854,000 new cases and 1,712 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending, in terms of cases:
And in terms of deaths:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here's every country that has reported over 10 million cases:
The U.S. had recorded more than 86.4 million coronavirus cases as of 3 a.m. E.T. today. More than 1 million people have died. On June 22, 155,151 new cases were reported and 482 new deaths were confirmed in the U.S.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending in terms of cases:
And in terms of deaths:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of June 23, 12 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
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WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Infants and toddlers can get Long COVID, according to a study published yesterday in the Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. The research involved about 11,000 children in Denmark who had contracted COVID-19. Among children under 3, 40% experienced at least one symptom of Long COVID—including mood swings, rashes, and stomachaches—up to two months after first testing positive for the virus.
Antiviral drugs like Lagevrio and Paxlovid are being prescribed inequitably, with people who live in economically disadvantaged communities receiving them less often than those in richer communities, according to a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Analyzing prescription rates by zip codes, the researchers found that people who live in more economically vulnerable areas received the drugs at half the rate of those in more affluent areas. The study’s authors attribute the disparity at least in part to the fact that people in less advantaged communities may have less access to doctors or clinics capable of prescribing the drugs.
Macau—the world’s largest gambling hub—is going into lockdown today to battle an outbreak of COVID-19, reports Reuters. Bars, movie theaters, outdoor parks, hair salons, and other businesses will all be closed as of 5 p.m. local time. The city’s 600,000 residents are also required to undergo mass PCR testing this week. The only exception to the shutdown? Casinos.
The Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 appear to sidestep antibody responses in people who have been fully vaccinated or previously infected with COVID-19, according to a study published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine. People who have been fully vaccinated, previously infected, or both do generate antibodies when they’ve been infected with BA.4 and BA.5, but at significantly lower levels than against the original coronavirus strain. The researchers stress, however, that vaccination still provides protection against severe disease and that the new results should not discourage people from getting their shots.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer, please send them to covidquestions@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Jeffrey Kluger and edited by Mandy Oaklander.
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