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This graphics shows the age breakdown of COVID-19 cases diagnosed through Sept. 1. Illustration/Todd Kleiboer
Antigen test numbers will soon be reported to the public in an effort by the local health authority to both provide more transparency and a wider picture of Hopkins County’s COVID-19 spread.
“With testing entities in our county, I would like to set up where every Friday, I could send out a number on how many positive antigen results they receive in that week,” local health authority nurse Brynn Smith said.
Antigen tests accurately detect a positive COVID-19 infection, but negatives are not accurate and may require another test, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, wait times for results are shorter for antigen tests compared to other tests like the molecular test.
“A lot of people are flocking over towards the antigen test,” Smith said.
Gathering antigen numbers would grant a greater perspective into the COVID-19 spread inside Hopkins County, according to Smith.
“While a lot of people will go get those antigen tests as opposed to molecular [done at the Civic Center], I think we need to give our public an idea of how many of those are coming up positive,” Smith said. “Say, in a week we only have 10 molecular positives, but on the other hand, we could have 40 antigens for that week.”
Antigen test numbers are not required to be reported to the state, though Smith said that might change, and she said testing overlaps between antigen and molecular are not likely to happen.
“The testing protocols in the all the places here have procedures that if you come into their facility and are symptomatic, you are given an antigen test,” Smith said. “If it’s antigen positive, you don’t go any further than that, but if you go in symptomatic and it’s negative, then they’ll do the molecular to confirm that antigen is negative.”
This move provides further information to the public as county emergency management released Tuesday an age breakdown of positive COVID-19 cases. People ages 60 and up made up the largest portion of cases at 22%, but people ages 31-40 made up 19% of the cases.
“The antigen tests that come back may be a whole different age range,” Smith said. “I’m worried that our public is going to say that stats show that it’s just the older population that’s affected.”