By Sarah Jacoby; Today.com
A few weeks ago, after more than two years of evading COVID-19, I tested positive on a home rapid test. The line was barely there — so faint that it didn't even show up in photos. Was I tricking myself? Unfortunately, no. The much more obviously positive test I took the next day confirmed that I had COVID-19.
The whole experience also got me thinking about what the line actually means and whether a darker or lighter positive line on a COVID-19 test can tell you anything about your individual infection.
What does the line on a COVID-19 actually measure?
At its most literal level, the positive line on an at-home rapid test "is showing the presence of targeted viral proteins," Omai Garner, Ph.D., associate clinical professor and director of clinical microbiology at UCLA Health, told TODAY.
"It's looking for a particular part of the virus that attaches to components of the test that are attached to a color," Dr. Emily Volk, President of the College of American Pathologists, told TODAY.
From there, the proteins "get caught on that line and show a color band," Dr. Amy Mathers, associate professor of medicine and pathology and associate director of clinical microbiology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, told TODAY.
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