A doctor said COVID-19 nasal swab tests may not be good enough anymore.
Robby Sikka, an anesthesiologist and CNBC senior health consultant, made the comment after CNBC host Shepard Smith announced Wednesday that he tested positive for COVID-19 only after swabbing the back of his throat.
“When I first started feeling what I thought were COVID symptoms, I got tested by a doctor, and the doctor said, ‘You’re negative,'” Smith said. “The next day, I tested myself, and I took the swab and put it in the back of my throat, and it tested positive once I got home.”
Shepard Smith says he has Covid right now, but when a doctor first tested him it was negative. The next day he tested himself by swabbing his throat and was positive. Our question for Dr. @robbysikka: should the government recommend testing for omicron using a throat swab? pic.twitter.com/VLMy6Jh7G2
— The News with Shepard Smith (@thenewsoncnbc) January 6, 2022
Smith asked Sikka if testing in the back of the throat makes a difference.
Sikka said studies are showing the omicron variant of COVID-19 settles more in the oral cavity than in the nasal nasopharynx, especially during the first five days of infection. He said health experts are looking into combined oral-nasal swabs as an alternative strategy.
“We’re missing positives because we are only relying on nasal swabs,” Sikka said.
Smith questioned why that is not part of standard medical advice.
“We have to change the guidance,” Sikka replied. “The good news is that we are doing this in real time.”
Sikka noted that a negative test alone is not enough.
“The take-home message is this,” Sikka said. “Sole reliance on a negative test, just like you, [Smith], went through, is going to increase transmission. We can’t just rely on, ‘Hey you were negative by an antigen test,’ and go see Grandma.”
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Smith questioned if there is any reason to keep testing.
Sikka said testing should continue until there is a greater understanding of how quickly people are able to clear the virus.
