Last week, President Donald Trump had a positive coronavirus test. It was a huge shock to the nation and caused a lot of panic by the American people. There was talk about what would happen if he were to get too sick to continue working and news channels reviewed the line of succession. He appears to be fine and on a smooth path to recovery now, but I still think it’s important to examine the protocols in place to keep us healthy and keep positive cases to a minimum.
One thing that is particularly frustrating to me is the use of rapid tests and self-tests. My sister goes to the University of Alabama and she were asked to give the nasal swab to herself. Of course, she barely stuck it up her nose and certainly did not collect all of the material necessary. Now, UA is a campus with one of the highest cases. Rapid testing also bothers me. While it is great for weeding out those who test positive under a time crunch, the tests are found to be extremely inaccurate. Taking a PCR test that takes roughly 48 hours to get results mixed with getting the test done by a trained professional is the only way to keep Americans safe.
I have gotten tested two times (the proper way) and I am getting my third test done in two days. The first test was an initial one required for all students coming to campus. For more information, you can see my post about Being a College Student The second test was a random selection by the University of Kentucky. Since I got selected, I had three days to complete this mandatory test. I expect to be asked to get retested at least once more randomly by the end of the semester. The final test that I am getting in two days is a test that I am taking by choice. I want to go home and see my family so I am doing what is responsible and getting tested two days before I leave to make sure that I am safe to see them. Of course, there is the risk that I contracted it during those two days but I figured that going 48 hours without a test is better than two weeks and there’s not much I can do about it.
So, what is getting tested really like? I was told horror stories that it feels like getting your brain poked at. In reality, it was not that bad. It was certainly uncomfortable having a long Q-Tip up my nose so far, but I would compare it to the feeling of getting water up your nose and just having a lot of pressure built up. My eyes have watered each time I got tested, but other than that, all was well. It also goes by extremely quickly having it placed up my nostrils for 5 seconds each. Below is a video describing the tests that can be done and how they are performed:
*Note: This video contains some information that does not pertain to the U.S. While generally, the tests are the same, there are some slight modifications for what my experience was like.
Getting tested is just one of the many ways we’ve tried to get this virus under control and do our part to keep others safe. While it is not the most comfortable test, it is nothing to be afraid of, and is crucial that it gets done. I’m extremely thankful that I can get tested whenever I want for free and that I’m spending my time during the pandemic at a place that cares about my health.
