On the evening of November 12, billionaire Elon Musk shared on Twitter a pretty shocking news. Accordingly, he received a rather complicated Covid-19 test result. In total, he tested 4 times, of which 2 times were positive and 2 times were negative.
Currently, he is having symptoms like a cold. In addition, he is also waiting for the results of PCR tests – to be announced within the next 24 hours.
The antigen test works by identifying a protein molecule on the surface of the corona virus, while PCR traces the virus directly. Therefore, the antigen test will give results faster, but not as accurate.
However, according to the FDA, “the antigen test result if positive is highly accurate, while the rate of false negative is also.” That is why a PCR test is required to reduce the possibility of false negatives.
The United States is currently witnessing an increase in the number of Covid-19 infections. Just a week after recording a record 100,000 cases per day, medical data recorded 160,000 new infections on November 12 (according to the New York Times). The number of people hospitalized for Covid-19 treatment also hit a record that same day, while the death toll increased by more than 1000 people per day.