Betty Lin-Fisher: Free at-home COVID test offers peace of mind when in doubt about virus

Recently, I had my first meeting with new Akron Children’s CEO Chris Gessner for an article I was going to write introducing him to the community.

More: 'The perfect opportunity': New Akron Children's CEO Chris Gessner ready for challenges

During the COVID-19 pandemic, my colleagues and I have been working remotely from home. We continue to cover the community while utilizing a lot more virtual tools like video interviews and going out to meet our sources or cover an in-person story when allowed.

For me, the medical reporter covering the COVID pandemic as well as the consumer columnist, the area hospitals are — for the most part — still not allowing the media on site or allowing them only outside.

For my interview with Gessner on his first day of work on Oct. 18, hospital spokeswoman Holly Pupino had arranged for a Beacon Journal photographer and me to meet him outside for photos. We were then possibly going to go inside to an office with masks for our interview because we weren't sure about the fall weather.

The night before my meeting, I started sneezing up a storm out of the blue. I had no fever and didn’t feel like it was a cold. It felt like a mini allergy attack, which caused me to blow my nose a lot.

I am fully vaccinated and had not been exposed to anyone, though I also know there are breakthrough cases of COVID with little to no symptoms.

I took some nasal decongestant and went to sleep wondering what I should do about the next morning. What’s the new COVID pandemic work or life etiquette if you have the sniffles and are pretty sure it isn’t COVID? Do you wear a mask and sniffle through it or change to a virtual meeting? Before COVID, we all know people went to work or to a meeting feeling a little “off” and powering through.

I really didn’t want to meet virtually since it’s just not the same as meeting a CEO in person for the first time for a profile story.

But I certainly didn’t want to give the new CEO COVID or even a cold.

When I woke up, my nose didn’t feel stuffy, though I still had some sniffles. As I ate breakfast, I told myself I’d see if I could go 15 minutes without sneezing or sniffling. When I could, I still wasn’t sure what I should do.

I phoned Pupino to ask her opinion. She suggested we could go virtual or if I still wanted to come, we’d be wearing masks inside the building. I suggested maybe we stay outside for the photos and the interview since it was a bit brisk, but manageable. We agreed.

As I was getting ready, I remembered I had picked up some free At-Home COVID testing kits from the Summit County Public Health Department in early September.

More: Here's how to get a free rapid at-home COVID-19 test kit in Summit County

The BinaxNOW antigen kits are part of partnership among the state of Ohio, Abbott and eMed and are a good way to test for exposure to mitigate the spread of the virus, said Cory Kendrick, policy and legislative affairs director who has been overseeing testing at the health department.

The rapid tests screen for the COVID-19 antigen. These can be done with a nose swab and typically have results within 15 to 30 minutes. They are approved for use by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Antigen tests are different then PCR or polymerase chain reaction test, which is considered the “gold standard of testing” and looks for the actual genetic material of the virus. Those test results can sometimes take one to three days, but several pharmacies are offering Rapid PCR tests, which can offer results quicker.

The CDC has said the antigen tests are 92% accurate for symptomatic individuals and almost 80% for asymptomatic people, Kendrick said.

Taking the test

Up until that point, I had yet to take a COVID test because I hadn’t been exposed to anyone or felt any symptoms – at least when testing was readily available. Early on in the pandemic, I’m not sure if what I thought was a very bad cold was COVID; reported symptoms early were changing and there was no availability of testing unless you were ill enough to go to the hospital.

I grabbed one of the test kits and started searching online how long the test results would take. The proctored test, which you take while a person at the test company watches, would take about 15 minutes for results.

But the instructions said I needed to take the proctored test on a computer with a camera. I was due at Akron Children’s in about 30 minutes and I lived about 20 minutes away.

I have since found out from Kendrick that I must not have received the updated instructions when I picked up my free tests, which say you can take the proctored test on any Apple or Android device that has access to Google Chrome or Safari, so I could have used my phone.

I got changed really quickly, downloaded the app to create an account and pulled out onto my driveway so I could connect my laptop to my phone's hot spot. I took the test and asked the proctor if I could drive for the 15 minutes while awaiting my test results. She was going to log off and someone else would come on in 15 minutes anyway, she said.

The test itself was very easy. Kendrick said people also have the option not to take the proctored test, but then the results are not official. People may want the results if they need to show proof of a negative COVID test, for instance.

I texted Pupino to tell her I was taking a COVID test and was on my way to the hospital, but would not get out of my car if my test results came back positive.

My results were ready about three minutes from the hospital, so I pulled into a parking lot. It was negative.

I told Gessner about my interesting morning, saying I’d never forget the morning I met him and took my first COVID test on the way to give myself the all-clear.

I still requested we stay outside for the interview to be safe. Ironically, I never sniffled during the interview or after.

That evening, I posted on my personal Facebook page about my adventure and wondered aloud if this was a new paradigm in the post-COVID world. Several friends said they had similarly taken tests before going to work or school. One said she took a test before she got on a plane since she had a cough and wanted to make sure she was safe when people eyed her, even though there were no rules that required a test.

Another vaccinated friend recently picked up some tests at the local library and planned to take one before Thanksgiving to make sure she was safe to eat dinner with her 92-year-old vaccinated mother.

Yet another friend asked how to get a test and said she had heard supplies were low for the free ones and the same tests sold at stores.

When I called Kendrick last week to relay my story and ask him for an update on the supplies, he said I used the test exactly the way the department wanted.

“A lot of times, especially for the vaccinated individuals, the symptoms are very mild,” said Kendrick. “We’ve heard a lot of people especially during our [contact-tracing] interviews who thought it was allergies and it was COVID.

“It just takes one person thinking it’s just allergies and that can cause a whole lot of issues for others. That’s how potentially outbreaks have started,” he said.

How to get tests

The free BinaxNOW COVID-19 home tests are available at Summit County Public Health's walk-up Vital Statistics window, located at the department’s headquarters at 1867 W. Market St. in Akron.

There were some initial supply issues in late August and September, but Kendrick said there are plenty of tests available now. The department pulled back the limit to one per person or household to make sure there were enough, but Kendrick told me that as of Nov. 15, the health department will increase the limit to four per person to help people test themselves to mitigate any exposure during holiday gatherings.

The kits are available 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. No appointments are necessary.

The test can be used for anyone 4 and older.

All Akron-Summit County Public Library branches and the main downtown Akron library also have free at-home test kits, but supplies have been limited and run out quickly before being replenished. There is a limit of four, and people must call ahead to reserve the kits to pick up the same day, said Pam Plumley, library executive assistant who has been coordinating the program. There are no holds online. A library card is not needed.

All branch locations and phone numbers can be found at www.akronlibrary.org/locations or check the library’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/AkronLibrary) for updates.

Plumley said there are 215 libraries across Ohio participating in the program to give out free at-home COVID testing kits.

Beacon Journal staff reporter Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her @blinfisherABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/BettyLinFisherABJ. To see her most recent stories and columns, go to www.tinyurl.com/bettylinfisher.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Betty Lin-Fisher: Free at-home COVID test offers peace of mind