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Are at-home rapid COVID tests worth your time and money?

DETROIT – They’re billed as being safe, easy and accurate -- but are at-home rapid COVID tests worth your time and money?

President Biden’s plan to help stop the spread of COVID-19 includes encouraging more people to test for COVID more often with at-home rapid COVID tests.

The tests are sold at many grocery stores and pharmacies including Kroger, Walmart, CVS, and Rite Aid -- but there have been supply issues.

Read: FDA warns Ellume COVID-19 at-home test has potential for false positive results

Help Me Hank consumer investigator Hank Winchester and Good Health’s Dr. Frank McGeorge teamed up to test three of the most popular at-home rapid tests:

  • BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen Self (Retails from $14 - $23.99)
  • QuickVue At-Home OTC COVID-19 2 Test Kits (Retails $23.99)
  • Ellume covid 19 home test (Retails $38.99)

McGeorge watched via Zoom as Hank Winchester tested all three tests. Before you begin taking the at-home test, the most important thing to do is to read the directions as they are very detailed.

Watch the video above for the full report.



Where are all the at-home COVID tests?

Americans are being encouraged to test for COVID-19 more often -- but how can they, when at-home test kits have all but vanished?

As part of a partnership with the Biden Administration, retailers Amazon, Kroger and Walmart will offer at-home rapid COVID tests at cost for three months, but those tests are difficult to find -- especially at locations offering them at a low rate.

President Joe Biden said the government would purchase 280 million at-home tests in an effort to particularly provide school systems and federal employees easy access to instant results amid the ongoing pandemic. But after shopping around at pharmacies across Metro Detroit, at-home COVID tests were nearly nowhere to be found.

Click here to learn more.


COVID-19 Discussion Forum:

Join our dedicated space to discuss the pandemic. You’re invited to share questions, experiences, insights and opinions.

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About the Authors
Hank Winchester headshot

Hank Winchester is Local 4’s Consumer Investigative Reporter and the head of WDIV’s “Help Me Hank” Consumer Unit. Hank works to solve consumer complaints, reveal important recalls and track down thieves who have ripped off people in our community.

Kayla Clarke headshot

Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.

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