Treatment and Re-Testing
If you test positive and are at high risk of getting very sick from COVID or flu, get treated. If you're sick or were exposed to COVID and you test negative, test again in a couple of days.
Quick Info
I Tested Positive
What to do if your self-test result is positive
If you have COVID symptoms or were recently around someone with COVID, a positive test result means you are almost certainly infected. You'll need to isolate. If you're at high risk you should consider treatment.
In rare cases, you can test positive and not be infected, especially if you don't have symptoms. A lab test can confirm whether this “false positive” is accurate or not. Isolate until you get your results.
Whenever you test yourself with a rapid test, remember to report your result — whether it's positive or negative.
The medications that treat COVID are antivirals. Antivirals don't usually kill viruses directly. Instead, they make it harder for viruses to make more virus within your body. They may also make it harder for viruses to get into your cells.
For the Omicron variant, taking an antiviral cuts your risk of being hospitalized or dying from COVID roughly in half. If you're not vaccinated, it makes even more of a difference.
Two antivirals that treat COVID are available in the US. One has full FDA approval; the other one has received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the FDA.
The Test to Treat program lets people who are at high risk of getting very sick from COVID get tested and receive free treatment all at one time.
There are two versions of the program. One of them provides free tests and treatment at pharmacy-based clinics and community health centers. The other sends free tests to your home and provides free telehealth visits if needed. Here's how they work:
Home Test to Treat
If you're an uninsured or underinsured adult, you can register with Home Test to Treat and get free home COVID tests. If you'd rather register by phone, call 1-800-682-2829. You don't need to be high risk to use this service.
If you test positive, Home Test to Treat will help you get a telehealth appointment with a health care provider. If the provider prescribes medication for you, it will be sent to your home or to a pharmacy near you.
(Regular) Test to Treat: Getting Tested
If you're at high risk and think you might have COVID, you can go to a participating pharmacy-based clinic or community health center and get tested.
Find a Test to Treat location (English)
Find a Test to Treat location (Spanish)
Find a Test to Treat location (Chinese)
The Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL) is also available to help people with disabilities access services. To get help, call 1-888-677-1199, Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 8 PM ET or email DIAL@usaginganddisability.org.
If you test positive on a rapid test at home, or you get tested somewhere else and show up positive, you can bring your results with you instead of getting tested there.
(Regular) Test to Treat: Getting Treated
When you go to get tested, bring with you a list of all the medications that you take, as well as any recent lab reports.
If you test positive, a health care provider will look at your list of medications and lab results and talk to you about your health. That information will tell them if they can prescribe COVID medication for you.
If the health care provider prescribes COVID medication for you, you can get it for free at that same pharmacy or community health center.
If you have any of the conditions on the CDC Medical Conditions page, you’re at high risk. Here are just a few examples from that list:
65 years old or older
Obese or overweight
Pregnant
Chronic kidney disease
Diabetes
Have a condition or receiving treatment that weakens or suppresses your immune system
Heart disease
Chronic lung diseases including COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and moderate to severe asthma
Sickle cell disease
Neurodevelopmental disorders such as cerebral palsy
Have a medical device (for example, tracheostomy, gastrostomy, or positive pressure ventilation)
It doesn't look like it. From the beginning of the pandemic, there have always been some people who get sick again right after they've gotten over COVID, even if they haven't been in contact with anyone who's infected. That's called a relapse or a rebound.
After lots of research, the FDA has figured out that the number of people who rebound is basically the same whether they've taken antivirals or not. (It's a pretty small number: less than 10 percent.)
In addition:
The virus is not becoming resistant to the antivirals.
The antivirals are very good at keeping you from being hospitalized or dying from COVID, even if you have a relapse.
If you have a rebound, let your health-care provider know right away. You may also have to start your isolation over again.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decides which drugs and medical tests can be used in this country. The full FDA approval process can take months to years.
When a public-health emergency happens, there isn’t time for new drugs or tests to go through the entire process. That’s when the FDA can use Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). It allows the FDA to let certain medical products be used more quickly, while still making sure they are as safe as possible.
Talk to your health care provider. You may be able to get treatment, especially if you're at high risk of getting very sick from the flu.
If you don't have a health care provider, you can go to an urgent care center or community health center (find a community health center near you).
Whenever you test yourself with a rapid test, remember to report your result — whether it's positive or negative.
People over age 65 and children under age 5 are at high risk of getting very sick the flu. So are people whose immune systems are not strong, including pregnant people.
Other health conditions can put you at high risk, as well. The more conditions you have, the higher your risk is.
The medications that treat flu directly are antivirals (this article from the California Institute of Technology explains how they work - it's cool). In the US you can only get them with a prescription. Antivirals work best when started within two days of getting symptoms.
There are several different antivirals that treat the flu. Depending on which one your health care provider prescribes, it may be a pill, a liquid, or a powder that you breathe in.
Most people who get the flu don't actually need to take antivirals. They'll get better without them. But if you're at high risk of getting severely ill from the flu, talk to your health care provider about treatment right away.
More information about antivirals.
People at higher risk of flu complications.
Don't have a health care provider? Find a community health center near you.
The two most common types of flu in people are Flu A and Flu B.
Flu A is more common early in the flu season. Flu B tends to show up later.
In recent years, Flu B has been more common and more severe in children.
When you report your test results, you'll be asked whether you tested positive for Flu A, Flu B, or both.
I Tested Negative
What to do if your self-test result is negative.
That’s good news, but your condition might change. After you’ve been exposed to COVID, it takes a few days for enough virus to grow in your body that you test positive.
If you have COVID symptoms
Test again 48 hours later. Here's why.
You can also get a lab test to confirm your result.
If you've been exposed to someone with COVID
Wait 5 days after the exposure before testing. You'll also need to wear a mask for a while. Learn more about what to do if you're exposed.
If your test on Day 6 is negative, it's safest to test two more times, with 48 hours between each test.
Whenever you test yourself with a rapid test, remember to report your result — whether it's positive or negative.
Some people who have been exposed to COVID get sick but never test positive on a rapid test, even when they test for several days. There are two main reasons why this can happen:
They could have some other disease.
They could have COVID, but they don't carry or shed enough virus to make an antigen test turn positive. This article from CNN explains in more detail.
One way to check is to get a PCR test. That kind of test will turn positive even if the sample only has a very small amount of virus in it.
Whenever you test yourself with a rapid test, remember to report your result — whether it's positive or negative.
Talk to your health care provider. That's especially important if you're at high risk of getting very sick from either disease. Don't have a health care provider? Find a community health center near you.
People over age 65 are at high risk of getting very sick from both COVID and flu. So are people whose immune systems are not strong, including pregnant people.
Children under age 5 are at high risk of getting very sick with flu. They're more likely to have a mild case of COVID.
Other health conditions can put you at high risk for one or both of these diseases. The more conditions you have, the higher your risk is.
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