Cold temperatures could affect accuracy of at-home COVID-19 tests
Most at-home COVID-19 tests are designed to work at 30 degrees or higher
Most at-home COVID-19 tests are designed to work at 30 degrees or higher
Most at-home COVID-19 tests are designed to work at 30 degrees or higher
The freezing temperatures may be too cold for COVID-19 tests.
The federal government has started shipping free at-home COVID-19 tests, but there may be an issue when they get to someone's mailbox.
"The cold weather can absolutely have an impact on testing," said Dr. Nathan Ledeboer, medical director of Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin clinical labs.
Ledeboer said the frigid temperatures are colder than the 30 degrees or so at which most at-home COVID-19 tests are designed to work.
"It leaves a lot of us asking, 'What should we do with these tests?' Particularly if they sit on my porch or my mailbox for (a) period of time," Ledeboer said.
Sister station WISN put an at-home test kit outside on Tuesday when the temperature was 10 degrees.
Test kits have a built-in mechanism to show if the kit fails, but Ledeboer said how accurate they are in extreme cold can vary.
"Whether or not the tests are going to be susceptible to freezing or not, or susceptible to low temperatures or not, is going to be dependent on the individual test manufacturer," Ledeboer said.
He said limited time in the cold should not pose a problem but recommends checking the temperature listed on the box and the manufacturer's website for any information concerning tests left out for longer periods in the cold.
"Really, do a little bit of investigation if you're getting a test today, just to make sure our super cold temperatures aren't going to have a major impact," Ledeboer said.
Ledeboer said if anyone is getting at-home tests shipped to them during this cold stretch, they should try to get them inside as soon as they can.
Don't use them until they reach room temperature.
And if anyone is unsure about the results, he recommends following up with a PCR test.
