At home COVID test uses your Android or iPhone handset, a special app, and the Detect kit

With the Omicron variant of COVID running rampant across the globe, pharmacies and retailers are running out of home COVID tests. But if you're looking for a PCR quality test that has a 97.3% accuracy percentage and will give you your results in about an hour, you might consider ordering Detect. The test works with your smartphone and the Detect app that is available from the App Store and Google Play Store for iOS and Android respectively.

While some home tests might be confusing, following the directions that appear in video form on the app makes the process of using Detect nearly foolproof. And the videos, which show step-by-step directions, include a countdown timer to guarantee that you are following directions precisely. You can even replay each video before moving on to the next step.

Because Detect can identify COVID-19 at a lower viral load than antigen tests, you can be alerted earlier if indeed you have the virus.

To reiterate, you need your smartphone so that you can install the Detect app on it. You can also find the directions at the FDA's media website. The test requires that you use a smartphone and an app because the results are reported to "relevant public health authorities in accordance with local, state, and federal requirements."

As with most tests, you are asked to swab the inside of each nostril; when done you place the swab inside a test tube that you've already prepared with a solution provided by the test. After doing the necessary shaking of the tube, it is inserted into a device called the Detect Hub. After the appropriate time, you transfer the tube to another holder which tests the liquid in the tube. The app asks you questions about the results and once you tap on the answers, you are given your results.

The starter kit, which includes one test and the reusable hub, is available from the Detect website for $75. Normally $88, this is a 15% discount. And each test (good for one-time use) will cost you $49. The bad news is that both are currently sold out which we would say is no surprise considering the number of people who have been testing positive lately. We should point out that Detect is not  FDA cleared or approved but has been authorized by the FDA under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).

As for the variants that the test can detect, the company says, "The Detect test is shown by bioinformatic analysis to recognize all Variants of Concern, including Delta and Omicron. Detect performs routine surveillance of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variant strains and will continue to monitor effectiveness of the test for such variants."

Those who want to use the Detect test need to own any iPhone released after 2013 (iPhone 6 or later running iOS 13 and later). Android models released after 2013 are also compatible with the test as long as they are running Android 8 and up. If your phone meets the requirements stated above, you can use it to run the Detect test and ease your mind with a high degree of confidence.

Dr. Jonathan Rothberg, founder of Detect, Inc. says, "The Detect Covid-19 Test brings laboratory accuracy into the home, helping to mitigate Covid-19 transmission and make everyday activities safe and anxiety-free again. As a complement to vaccines, highly accurate rapid testing will be critical as the pandemic becomes endemic. We developed the Detect Covid-19 Test to help people return to doing the things they love with the people they love in the safest way possible."