the uncomfortable sensation of a swab to the back of the throat or nose is familiar to anyone who’s had a covid test in recent times, and may fast become an annoying but necessary reality of everyday life. very soon, you may be able to quickly and conveniently perform this test right inside your own home, thanks to the introduction of at-home covid tests.

on-site testing for workplaces and schools are in place across australia, and home-testing kits for covid-19 seem to be the next step in getting back to some semblance of normalcy. Rapid antigen testing, more commonly known as at home testing kits, have already been rolled out across the US, UK, Singapore, and recently, Canada. The federal health minister Greg Hunt has expressed home that these home testing kits will soon be approved for use in Australia . alongside a digital vaccination certificate and digital border pass, at home-testing kits will complete the trifecta of documentation needed to hop on a plane and travel overseas. Professor Sharon Lewin, director of the Doherty Institute, sees home testing as an important next step in our response to the pandemic , prompting those who otherwise wouldn’t, or are unable to, to get tested in the comfort of their own home. as the world begins to reopen and international travel looms on the horizon for australians, is at-home covid testing the future of travel?

if we look to countries overseas, it seems that rapid testing may fast become as normal to travel as checking in luggage or waiting in long airport lines. For those wishing to travel to the United stateS, covid-19 self-testing has been approved by the CDC since May of this year. since then, a range of home testing kits have flooded the market, and the first on the market, ellume, was Australian-made. the aussie diagnostic company, partnered with Delta Airlines and Alaska Airlines early on to provide easy self-testing kits to passengers.

How does it work?

So how does at-home testing work? just like the pcr tests we’re used to, rapid antigen tests work by swabbing the nose and throat to collect a sample. swabs are then placed in a chemical solution that produces a positive or negative result. There are a range of tests on the market – some requiring tests to be mailed to diagnostic centres, whilst others simply require a stable wifi connection and supervision from a qualified health professional, and can reveal results on the spot. in all cases, tests need to observed by a nurse or doctor (in-person or online).

the future of travel?

Whilst the technology is becoming increasingly sophisticated, the chance of a false positive is still fairly high, with 3% of tests returning a false result. whilst rapid antigen testing is not as accurate as PCR, it’s still a valuable asset in the realm of outbreak management. Indeed, experts see rapid testing as a first step for screening and surveilling the virus, rather than a diagnostic test that offers a definitive result. it’s faster, cheaper, and easy to administer - all benefits that mean it will likely be used as a screening step for airline passengers and staff.