Frequently Asked Questions
Coronavirus disease (also called COVID-19) is a respiratory illness caused by a type of coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2.
The fast spread of COVID-19 has reached pandemic levels – a global health crisis. The first case in the United States (US) was identified in January, 2020 in Seattle. The US now has the largest number of COVID-19 cases in the world.
For information on How COVID-19 Spreads, visit
For information on COVID-19 Vaccinations, visit
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COVID-19 is extremely contagious. The risk of getting COVID-19 depends on your exposure to infected people and places. You can reduce your risk by avoiding crowded areas that may be shared with infected people – like elevators, airplanes, and large gatherings. Choose activities in places that follow the local safety protocols. Book early! Local businesses that observe safety protocols will have limited availability, but they will reduce your chance of getting coronavirus.
Severe cases are more likely to occur in adults above 65 and pregnant women. As well, people with weakened immune systems and underlying health issues are at high risk: These include people with: AIDS, cancer, diabetes, heart conditions, high blood pressure, kidney disease, liver disease, lung disease, lupus, obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, stroke and transplant. And serious disease may occur in younger adults.
Most people have mild symptoms or no symptoms but it is impossible to know in advance how any given person will fair if infected with SARS-CoV-2.
Wear a mask that covers both your nose and mouth in ALL public settings. The virus sheds and spreads from the nose. Wearing a mask limits the viral particles that reach your respiratory system.
Wash your hands frequently.
Use Hand sanitizer when you are not near soap and water. hand sanitizers with at least 60% alcohol content can prevent picking up the virus from the last person who touched that door handle or grocery checkout machine.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. These are routes for the virus to get into your respiratory tract and infect you.
Reduce activities outside your home. COVID-19 is light and travels easily through the air. Wear your mask if you go out.
Physically distance. Maintain a safe distance ~ 6 feet between yourself and other people
Participate virtually when you have an option. Avoid crowded areas like shopping malls, religious gatherings, public transportation, etc.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick. If you are the caregiver, ensure any sick person is observing protections to help contain the spread.
If you are not symptomatic, you may still have coronavirus. Prevent the spread. If you or someone in your home has symptoms, stay home AND
Avoid trips outside the home, unless you are visiting a healthcare provider.
Keep your children home when they are sick, unless you are taking them to a healthcare provider.
Stay in a specific room and away from other people in your home.
Restrict any activities outside your home, except for getting medical care.
Wear a face mask around other people or pets.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
Dispose used tissues immediately.
Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
Do not share dishes, clothing or linen with other people or pets.
Clean and disinfect frequently, especially high-touch surfaces like counters, door handles and remotes and keyboards.
Glove up. If you are taking care of someone in your home who has or is suspected of having COVID-19, wear disposable gloves when you are in the room. Dispose the gloves immediately after use. Gloves protect you only to the extent that you change them between interactions.
Isolation is what you should do if you have tested positive. Quarantine is what you should do if you believe you have come in contact with someone who has COVID-19. Isolation separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick. Quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick.
Isolate if you have tested positive with any COVID-19 fast test. Isolate to stop the spread. Take an RT-PCR test to confirm your result. The RT-PCR looks for viral genetic material, and is currently the gold standard for accuracy.
Quarantine if you have not been tested but you believe you have been exposed to COVID-19. Stay home and limit your contact with other people. Quarantine to protect yourself and your loved ones. Take a test to determine if you have SARS-CoV-2 and self-monitor in quarantine.
Isolate if you have tested positive with any COVID-19 fast test. Isolate to stop the spread. Take an RT-PCR test to confirm your result. The RT-PCR looks for viral genetic material, and is currently the gold standard for accuracy.
Quarantine if you have not been tested but you believe you have been exposed to COVID-19. Stay home and limit your contact with other people. Quarantine to protect yourself and your loved ones. Take a test to determine if you have SARS-CoV-2 and self-monitor in quarantine.
The CDC now says the virus is no longer contagious 10 days after symptom onset, down from a previous 14 days. It’s also important to note that you should be fever-free for at least 24 hours and that your symptoms (if you had any) have improved before leaving isolation.
Seek emergency care immediately if you show any of the following signs*:
- Trouble breathing
- Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
- New confusion
- Inability to wake or stay awake
- Bluish lips or face
Yes.
FDA Emergency Use Authorizations are issued in times of a public health emergency. This means that while the laboratories performing this test have validation data to support performing the COVID-19 test on the RapidRona Self-Collection Kit, neither have been approved or cleared by the FDA; it has only been authorized by the FDA for detection of nucleic acid from SARS-CoV-2 – the COVID-19 virus; it is only authorized during the duration of the COVID-19 emergency declaration by federal regulators.
The RapidRona Self-Collection Kit specimens are tested using a molecular diagnostic test method called Reverse-Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). RT-PCR testing was developed in 1984 – it is the gold standard for diagnostic testing for a variety of infectious illnesses including COVID-19, HIV/AIDS, and others. This test detects the presence or absence of genes from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The guide
The Self-Collection Kit is available in the US to all individuals 18 or older who meet the eligibility criteria for COVID-19 testing. Find out if you are eligible here.
Easy, peasy.
Order → Get the kit → Collect sample → Leave for Courier or Drop off → Get results!
Your RapidRona account is for your private use only.
RapidRona Self-Collection Kits are shipped on the day if ordered prior 2 PM Central Time on a business day. Otherwise they are shipped the next business day. Kits are shipped via 2Day Express for free.
You may opt to pay for an upgrade to Priority Overnight to guarantee 10:30 AM delivery the following business day (which includes Saturdays).
Due to FedEx shipping schedules, there may be a delay if your order is placed on a weekend or during holidays.
When you receive your kit, you log in and register at Collect Your Sample.
If you do not have your kit, check out How It Works and get familiar with the registration and sample steps.
You will use a 3" swab. It is a nostril swab. Not the scary brain-tickling you have heard so much about!
It is easy.
The sample collection is easy. With the easy-to-follow instructions, you will be scheduling the pickup 10-15 minutes after you begin.
If you do not follow the instructions, the results may be delayed or produce false or inaccurate results. If the sample tube you submit contains anything other than your swab and saline, your sample will not be tested and the diagnostic report will reflect Test Not Performed (TNP). Avoid re-ordering by following the Instructions for Use (IFU) provided in your RapidRona Self-Collection Kit.
Shipping your sample is built into the process. When you finish taking your sample, you will schedule the courier pickup online and the rest takes care of itself. The Department of Transportation (DOT) approved packaging maintains the sample during overnight shipping.
No. The Instructions for Use are very specific about packaging and the kit includes everything you need. The sample must be shipped the same day you register the kit. A pre-labeled FedEx pack is included in your RapidRona Self-Collection Kit. We schedule the courier to pick up your sample. You can remain tucked up at home, without exposure to other people who may have COVID-19. Your sample is sent Priority Overnight to the lab ensuring it is handled properly in transport.
Between 24 and 48 hours. If you fail to follow the sample, label and packaging instructions, it can take longer.
In addition to the confirmation that you do or do not have COVID-19, the diagnostic report includes the physician who prescribed your test, the lab that actually did the test and the name of the test. As well, all the authorization conditions and warnings are repeated on the diagnostic test.
Your diagnostic(s) may be viewed in your online account, and you can download them to print or email to your private physician.
If you are positive, you bet! A physician from our healthcare partner,
If you are eligible for testing, you pay $99.00 by credit or debit card. This includes the physician’s fees; FedEx 2Day Express shipping to you; Priority Overnight shipping to the lab; the diagnostic test; physician notification in the case of positive results; and 24/7 online access to your receipts, requisitions and results. The receipt as well as the diagnostic remain available in your account if your employer or Health Savings Account (HSA) reimburse for testing. The cost of the physician services provided by PWNHealth is $8.
RapidRona is neither a healthcare provider nor a laboratory. We cannot bill your health insurance directly. However, we do provide all the information necessary to submit a claim to your healthcare insurance provider, and this test must be covered, according to federal law.* RapidRona provides the itemized receipt, the physician requisition and the diagnostic result reports in your online account.
Once you receive the email that lets you know your result is available online:
- Log into your account
- Click on Order History
- Use the Cloud icon to download your documents
- Submit the itemized receipt and any other required information through your own health insurer's claim submission process
- If you have questions about completing their forms & process, reach out to your insurance provider directly
The documents will include the following information:
- Your patient information
- The approving physician's NPI
- The diagnostic codes
- The performed services including procedure codes
- Itemized costs for lab tests
- PWNHealth's physician review of your information costs $8. This may or may not be reimbursed depending on your insurance company's policy.
* The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have indicated that at-home collection tests must be covered by insurers and health plans when the test is ordered by an attending health care provider who has determined that the test is medically appropriate for the individual based on current accepted standards of medical practice and the test meets the statutory criteria in section 6001(a)(1) of the FFCRA. The insurer must provide test coverage that does not require cost-sharing, prior authorization, or other medical management requirements. RapidRona’s COVID-19 Self-Collection Kits are ordered by independent physicians licensed to practice medicine in the state of the test-taker, based on results from an eligibility questionnaire indicating that the test is medically appropriate for the individual.
The test can sometimes show a negative result even if you are infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The two main reasons this happens are 1) it is too early in the infection and adequate viral particles are still not being shed from your nose; or 2) there was an issue with your sample.
If your results are negative, and you are having worsening symptoms or experience symptoms soon after testing, isolate and get further testing.
Even if your results are negative, monitor for symptoms for 14 days after your last exposure.
Because RT-PCR tests look for specific and unique parts of the viral genetic code, false positives are extremely rare. However, even with the specificity of the test and the checks to minimize laboratory error, the test can show a positive result even if you are not infected with SARS-CoV-2. Errors in collection, shipping and lab testing can occur. If you are concerned about your lab report, contact ask a healthcare provider if you need to re-test.
An antibody is a protein made by the immune system in response to a foreign substance, such as a specific virus and is most commonly measured from a blood sample. Antibodies take days to weeks to form after an infection or exposure, therefore, a positive antibody test only shows that one had COVID-19 at some point in time. Some infected individuals do not form antibodies.
An antigen is any substance that leads to an immune response. Typical antigens detected by COVID-19 tests are viral proteins. Although antigen tests are as specific as, and faster than RT-PCR tests, they are not as sensitive. This means that a positive antigen test when performed appropriately is very accurate, but