Rapid COVID tests miss 90% of asymptomatic cases

Rapid tests for COVID-19 excel at detecting infections in people with symptoms but miss many infections in those without symptoms. Credit: Lukas Schulze/Getty

Rapid antigen tests are much more reliable at detecting COVID-19 in people with symptoms than in those without, finds the largest study to compare home rapid tests with gold-standard PCR tests1.

Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals

Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription

$29.99 / 30 days

cancel any time

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 51 print issues and online access

$199.00 per year

only $3.90 per issue

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 619, 439 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-02254-9

Soni, A. et al. Ann. Intern. Med. https://doi.org/10.7326/M23-0385 (2023).

Article Google Scholar

Download references

NIH launches trials for long-COVID treatments: what scientists think

News 01 AUG 23

Meet the scientists planning for disasters

Spotlight 26 JUL 23

As COVID-19 cases rose, so did diabetes — no one knows why

News 21 JUL 23

We’re seeking a geophysicist with a strong background in either geodynamics, seismology or structural geology to join our team.

Beijing, Hong Kong, Jersey City, Nanjing, New York, Philadelphia, Shanghai or Washington DC (hybrid)

Springer Nature Ltd

DMPK/PD representative in multi-functional expert teams for the evaluation of new chemical entities

Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

BeiGene Ltd.

The Chan Lab in the Human Oncogenesis & Pathogenesis Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is seeking a highly motivated and successful...

New York City, New York (US)

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

The professorship is associated with the management of a department in the field of vegetative physiology.

Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg (DE)

University of Tübingen – Faculty of Medicine

Founded in 1897, Zhejiang University (ZJU) ranks among the top 3 universities on Chinese mainland and within the top 100 in the Times Higher Educat...

Hangzhou, Zhejiang (CN)

Stomatology Hospital, School of Stomatology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine(ZJUSS)