Does the booster affect a rapid test right afterward?
April 9, 2022 6:11 PM Subscribe
Mr. Blah -- double vaxxed and now double boosted -- had his 2nd booster yesterday, felt crappy today, and a rapid test (the one the US govt mailed out) just tested positive. Is that legit "oops, you got Covid" or "oops, you tested less than 24 hours after getting your booster and this is a false positive"? Google isn't helping me because I'm not seeing answers from reputable sites. Help? Bonus question inside.
Bonus question: I'm double vaxxed + booster. We live in the same small house. We sleep in the same bed. Our toothbrushes are adjacent in the bathroom. Isolating Mr. Blah right now feels like "that ship has sailed" but I could sleep in our only other bed tonight? It's in the tiny bedroom right next door to our tiny bedroom. What should I do?
Bonus question: I'm double vaxxed + booster. We live in the same small house. We sleep in the same bed. Our toothbrushes are adjacent in the bathroom. Isolating Mr. Blah right now feels like "that ship has sailed" but I could sleep in our only other bed tonight? It's in the tiny bedroom right next door to our tiny bedroom. What should I do?
I haven’t heard anything reliable about vaccine related false positives. In your shoes I would assume he has covid, assume you may not if you tested negative, and isolate him in one room as much as possible, wear masks, air out the house as much as you can, etc.
posted by Stacey at 6:24 PM on April 9, 2022
posted by Stacey at 6:24 PM on April 9, 2022
Best answer: The rapid tests are antiGEN tests, not antiBODY tests. The article linked in the previous comment is not relevant.
My understanding of the mRNA vaccines is that the mRNA itself degrades within an hour-ish timescale (maybe less) after injection and that the proteins produced from that mRNA get mopped up within hours after that. This is probably a breakthrough infection unluckily acquired shortly before the booster. :(
posted by heatherlogan at 6:45 PM on April 9, 2022 [11 favorites]
My understanding of the mRNA vaccines is that the mRNA itself degrades within an hour-ish timescale (maybe less) after injection and that the proteins produced from that mRNA get mopped up within hours after that. This is probably a breakthrough infection unluckily acquired shortly before the booster. :(
posted by heatherlogan at 6:45 PM on April 9, 2022 [11 favorites]
Wanted to add that even if the ship has sailed, isolating will still reduce your viral load.
posted by heatherlogan at 6:47 PM on April 9, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by heatherlogan at 6:47 PM on April 9, 2022 [5 favorites]
The booster shouldn't affect an antigen test, but I would test again tomorrow. If it's still positive, yeah, it's covid. Stay apart tonight just in case, it could still help even if he's positive, COVID isn't a perfect virus that is guaranteed to infect you immediately if you've been around a sick person.
posted by ch1x0r at 6:48 PM on April 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by ch1x0r at 6:48 PM on April 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
Oops, sorry. Carry on and consult your pharmacist or healthcare provider for accurate information.
posted by sjswitzer at 6:52 PM on April 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by sjswitzer at 6:52 PM on April 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Rapid antigen tests only look for nucleocapsid proteins from the surface of the Covid virus. The mRNA vaccines cause your body to produce only spike proteins from the Covid virus. There is no way for an mRNA vaccine to produce nucleocapsid proteins, nor is there any way for a rapid antigen test to detect spike protein, so there is no connection between the vaccine and the positive test. False negatives are quite rare with rapid tests, so unfortunately, it is highly likely that Mr. Blah has Covid.
Yes, you should isolate as much as possible. Even boosted, vaccine protection against Omicron is weak and BA.2, which it likely would be at this point, is incredibly transmissible. There is still a reasonable chance you haven't been infected (especially if he hasn't shown any symptoms yet), but that chance goes down the more you are around him, especially as his infection progresses. I would isolate from each other as much as possible until two rapid tests come back negative. Masks and ventilation would also be a good idea.
posted by ssg at 6:56 PM on April 9, 2022 [10 favorites]
Yes, you should isolate as much as possible. Even boosted, vaccine protection against Omicron is weak and BA.2, which it likely would be at this point, is incredibly transmissible. There is still a reasonable chance you haven't been infected (especially if he hasn't shown any symptoms yet), but that chance goes down the more you are around him, especially as his infection progresses. I would isolate from each other as much as possible until two rapid tests come back negative. Masks and ventilation would also be a good idea.
posted by ssg at 6:56 PM on April 9, 2022 [10 favorites]
I should say there are some rapid tests that do detect spike protein, but they are not common. I'm pretty sure the tests the US sent out all detect nucleocapsid, but you could look up yours or post the name of it here if you want to double check.
posted by ssg at 7:13 PM on April 9, 2022
posted by ssg at 7:13 PM on April 9, 2022
Response by poster: Through family, I just got in touch with someone who works in vaccine development at Pfizer, and they say unequivocally that the booster does not affect the test, so there you go. Thank you for the quick responses! I'm gonna make Mr. Blah mask, wear a mask myself, and sleep in a different room.
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:22 PM on April 9, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:22 PM on April 9, 2022 [8 favorites]
Mr Blah has COVID.
False positives are exceedingly rare and as you say, vaccines have no impact on antigen test results.
posted by latkes at 9:22 PM on April 9, 2022 [4 favorites]
False positives are exceedingly rare and as you say, vaccines have no impact on antigen test results.
posted by latkes at 9:22 PM on April 9, 2022 [4 favorites]
Mod note: One deleted (misinformation).
posted by taz (staff) at 11:48 PM on April 9, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by taz (staff) at 11:48 PM on April 9, 2022 [7 favorites]
Best answer: Agree with those who say it's very likely he has Covid. Anecdotally, in my house we managed to protect a resident vulnerable person when the rest of us caught it, by confining ourselves to one room as much as possible and masking when we had to be near one another.
posted by altolinguistic at 1:41 AM on April 10, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by altolinguistic at 1:41 AM on April 10, 2022 [2 favorites]
I would try to get him a PCR test as well so you can have an official record for potential treatment or dealing with sequelae, especially if he's in some way higher risk (which I'm guessing based on getting a second booster.)
posted by needs more cowbell at 1:42 AM on April 10, 2022
posted by needs more cowbell at 1:42 AM on April 10, 2022
My old boss is part of study looking for people: "The criteria we’re setting is we’re looking for people who have shared a bedroom with someone who was PCR-positive for at least three days. " The study will look at 4,500 people in total across 50 countries incl USA
posted by BobTheScientist at 4:22 AM on April 10, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by BobTheScientist at 4:22 AM on April 10, 2022 [3 favorites]
Along with masking, make some Corsi-Rosenthal Boxes to clean the air. There's been reports of people in your situation who have avoided infection by being aggressive about prevention.
posted by Sophont at 7:06 AM on April 10, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Sophont at 7:06 AM on April 10, 2022 [1 favorite]
You may want to contact his doctor to see if he’s eligible for Paxlovid, and (if you end up testing positive eventually) if you are. It should be started as soon as possible after a positive test.
posted by maleficent at 9:55 AM on April 10, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by maleficent at 9:55 AM on April 10, 2022 [2 favorites]
If he qualifies for a fourth shot he very likely qualifies for antivirals! Get a call in to his doctor ASAP for paxlovid or one of the others if there’s renal function concerns. It’s truly a wonder drug and worth getting! Get it in him Monday if at all possible.
posted by Bottlecap at 10:57 AM on April 10, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Bottlecap at 10:57 AM on April 10, 2022 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: He had a PCR test today so I'll update this once we get the result.
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:19 AM on April 10, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:19 AM on April 10, 2022 [1 favorite]
False negatives are quite rare with rapid tests, so unfortunately, it is highly likely that Mr. Blah has Covid.
ssg, your comment is great, but you made one mistake - if Mr. Blah tested positive, but did not actually have COVID, this would be a False Positive - these are, as you are describing, quite rare.
False Negatives (testing negative, when you actually do have COVID) is quite common with rapid antigen tests, especially in the first few days after infection.
posted by soylent00FF00 at 11:21 AM on April 10, 2022 [2 favorites]
ssg, your comment is great, but you made one mistake - if Mr. Blah tested positive, but did not actually have COVID, this would be a False Positive - these are, as you are describing, quite rare.
False Negatives (testing negative, when you actually do have COVID) is quite common with rapid antigen tests, especially in the first few days after infection.
posted by soylent00FF00 at 11:21 AM on April 10, 2022 [2 favorites]
After little ms flabdablet tested positive, I set up a box fan and cardboard shield in the window of her bedroom to let us run it at negative pressure with respect to the rest of the house. Then I was absolutely rigorous about wearing a mask any time I wasn't right next to an open window and able to feel outside air being drawn in. Ms flabdablet was slightly less rigorous about masking than I was. She also caught COVID. I didn't. After her positive test we slept in separate rooms until she was over it.
None of us felt like breaking quarantine to go out for a PCR test so I can't tell you definitively what strain went through our place. Little ms flabdablet had a horrible time but not quite hospitalization-grade horrible, and given that her nose and throat and upper airways were much worse affected than her lungs, and that ms flabdablet's bout was pretty much equivalent to a nasty head cold, I'm thinking it was probably omicron.
Little ms flabdablet was triple vaxxed with Pfizer, though her third shot was literally the day before she was probably exposed so it wouldn't have been doing much. Ms flabdablet had also had three Pfizers. I'd had two Astra Zeneca and a Moderna.
What should I do?
Arrange to sleep separately if at all possible, run the room where the infectious person spends most of their time at negative pressure, and be as rigorous about masking as both of you can until nobody's sick any more.
posted by flabdablet at 12:59 PM on April 10, 2022
None of us felt like breaking quarantine to go out for a PCR test so I can't tell you definitively what strain went through our place. Little ms flabdablet had a horrible time but not quite hospitalization-grade horrible, and given that her nose and throat and upper airways were much worse affected than her lungs, and that ms flabdablet's bout was pretty much equivalent to a nasty head cold, I'm thinking it was probably omicron.
Little ms flabdablet was triple vaxxed with Pfizer, though her third shot was literally the day before she was probably exposed so it wouldn't have been doing much. Ms flabdablet had also had three Pfizers. I'd had two Astra Zeneca and a Moderna.
What should I do?
Arrange to sleep separately if at all possible, run the room where the infectious person spends most of their time at negative pressure, and be as rigorous about masking as both of you can until nobody's sick any more.
posted by flabdablet at 12:59 PM on April 10, 2022
What should I do?
Get as much fresh air moving through your place as possible, wear an N95 mask indoors, set up some of the above-mentioned corsi-rosenthal boxes, sleep in a separate room, and keep the humidity between 50-60%:
The authors explained that humidity can affect virus transmission in three ways. Studies suggest that higher humidity can enhance the body’s ability to fight off infection; that the coronavirus decays faster at close to 60% relative humidity than at other levels; and that drier air can lead to greater numbers of tiny coronavirus particles that travel farther and penetrate deeper into the lungs.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:17 PM on April 10, 2022 [2 favorites]
Get as much fresh air moving through your place as possible, wear an N95 mask indoors, set up some of the above-mentioned corsi-rosenthal boxes, sleep in a separate room, and keep the humidity between 50-60%:
The authors explained that humidity can affect virus transmission in three ways. Studies suggest that higher humidity can enhance the body’s ability to fight off infection; that the coronavirus decays faster at close to 60% relative humidity than at other levels; and that drier air can lead to greater numbers of tiny coronavirus particles that travel farther and penetrate deeper into the lungs.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:17 PM on April 10, 2022 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: His PCR test came back positive. I continue to test negative via rapid test.
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:20 AM on April 11, 2022
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:20 AM on April 11, 2022
Response by poster: Okay so I had a negative rapid test this morning and today at 5pm, and also I feel like utter crap -- sore throat, fever a little above 99, super tired. I booked myself for a PCR test tomorrow but it'll be 1-2 days before I get that back.
posted by BlahLaLa at 5:36 PM on April 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by BlahLaLa at 5:36 PM on April 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
Little ms flabdablet also felt increasingly crap from the day before her first positive RAT result, which happened late afternoon; a morning test the same day had come up negative.
Wishing you and Mr Blah the speediest possible recovery.
posted by flabdablet at 7:36 PM on April 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
Wishing you and Mr Blah the speediest possible recovery.
posted by flabdablet at 7:36 PM on April 11, 2022 [2 favorites]
If you live in the U.S. and have any cofactors at all (or maybe even if you don't) I would try to get a dose of Paxlovid or Molnupiravir for both of you ASAP. These are the antivirals you take after getting sick, ideally within 1-3 days.
In the U.S. there are tons of doses of these out there sitting unused because people don't know they are available. You can use this locator to find locations near you have have them available. You will have to get your doctor to send in a prescription, either by calling or a virtual appointment or such.
(Doctors also often don't know this is available so if you can tell them "Walgreens at 49th and Johnson has 18 doses of Paxlovid" or similar it can help a lot. FYI Paxlovid appears to be quite a bit more effective than Molnupiravir, so Paxlovid would be my first choice. But either is a lot better tha nothing.)
posted by flug at 9:49 PM on April 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
In the U.S. there are tons of doses of these out there sitting unused because people don't know they are available. You can use this locator to find locations near you have have them available. You will have to get your doctor to send in a prescription, either by calling or a virtual appointment or such.
(Doctors also often don't know this is available so if you can tell them "Walgreens at 49th and Johnson has 18 doses of Paxlovid" or similar it can help a lot. FYI Paxlovid appears to be quite a bit more effective than Molnupiravir, so Paxlovid would be my first choice. But either is a lot better tha nothing.)
posted by flug at 9:49 PM on April 11, 2022 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: My rapid test was positive this morning. Oh well! Thank you for the advice.
Covid is still happening. Wear a mask. We are mask-wearers but Mr. Blah's work has a mask-optional policy, so I'm blaming that.
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:38 AM on April 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
Covid is still happening. Wear a mask. We are mask-wearers but Mr. Blah's work has a mask-optional policy, so I'm blaming that.
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:38 AM on April 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
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Good luck, I hope you don't get it, too!
posted by cooker girl at 6:19 PM on April 9, 2022 [24 favorites]