CDC guideline for COVID-19 diagnosis in vitro [3]
Result | Interpretation | |
---|---|---|
Viral testing (testing for current infection) | Positive | |
Negative | ||
Antibody testing (testing for past infection with the virus) | Positive | You |
Negative | You |
|
Both (antibody and viral testing) | Viral Positive, Antibody Positive | |
Viral Positive, Antibody Negative | ||
Viral Negative, Antibody Positive | You |
|
Viral Negative, Antibody Negative | You |
* No test is ever perfect. All tests occasionally result in false positive results (the test result should be negative because you DO NOT have COVID-19 but comes back positive) or false negative results (the test result should be positive because you DO have COVID-19, but comes back negative).