As the number of COVID-19 cases in this country continues to surge, there has been a rush of Americans seeking to get tested for the coronavirus that causes it. If you’re considering testing but are confused about the various types of tests and what they do and when to get them, here’s a brief overview that might help.

The first thing you need to understand is that there are different types of tests that are used at different times. Certain tests are used to detect if you are currently infected with SARS-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and there are different tests that can determine if you’ve already had the virus.

If you want to know if you are currently infected, there are two types of tests: molecular tests and antigen tests. Molecular tests are typically performed using nasal swabs or throat swabs, but some test saliva or another bodily fluid. Molecular tests look for genetic material that can only come from the virus, which will be present if you are infected.

Antigen tests, which are done using nasal or throat swabs, identify antigens from the virus. Antigens are protein fragments that initiate an allergic response in the body. Antigen tests are more likely to miss an active COVID-19 infection compared to molecular tests. It may be recommended that you get a molecular test if your antigen test is negative but you have COVID-19 symptoms, which include cough, shortness of breath and fever.

You can get these tests from your doctor or state or local health department. Most states have set up testing centers throughout the community to provide easy access for residents. Many centers offer the rapid COVID-19 test, which is an antigen test that provides results the same day as opposed to the 3-5 day wait time for most nasal swab tests. The FDA has also approved a COVID-19 home testing kit.

On the other hand, antibody tests look for antibodies to the virus in your blood, which may indicate that you’ve previously been infected by the coronavirus. Antibodies are proteins made by the immune system that help fight foreign invaders such as viruses. They may help ward off future attacks by the viruses and keep you from getting the diseases they cause a second time.

Unfortunately, researchers are uncertain about how much immunity antibodies to the coronavirus provide against getting COVID-19 again. Research suggests that coronavirus antibody levels may wane over just a few months. Confirmed and suspected cases of reinfection have been reported, but remain rare. Researchers are working to better understand this phenomenon.

Antibody tests are not a good way to determine if you are currently infected with the coronavirus because it can take 1-3 weeks after infection for your body to make antibodies. You may test negative but have an infection in its early stages. Further, you can test positive for antibodies even if you had an asymptomatic infection.

Antibody tests are available through your doctor or a verified laboratory. Typically, results are available within a few days.

The tests for COVID-19 are new and it’s unclear how accurate they really are because there are no “gold standard” tests to compare them to. In addition, these tests were made available by Emergency Use Authorization by the FDA. Under an EUA, the makers were permitted to market the tests even though they didn’t receive formal approval due to a public health emergency.

Studies show that the rate of false negative results with molecular tests vary depending on how long the infection has been present but ranged from 20 percent when testing was performed five days after symptoms began to up to 100 percent when testing was done earlier in the infection. False negatives are more common with antigen tests, which is why they are not favored by the FDA as a single-use test for active infection.

The reported rate of false negatives with antibody tests ranges from 0 to 30 percent depending on the research study and when in the course of the infection the test was done. Having an antibody test too soon after infection can lead to false negative results.

Most people who develop COVID-19 have a relatively mild form of the disease and don’t need any special treatment or hospitalization. In addition to symptoms of fever, cough and shortness of breath, they may also experience a sore throat and tiredness that may last one to two weeks. Other people who are infected may be asymptomatic.

But for some people, COVID-19 is a severe illness that requires hospitalization, sometimes in an intensive care or special COVID unit. The risk for this is higher for people who are older and have chronic health conditions such as diabetes.

Whether you test positive or negative for the coronavirus, take steps to protect yourself and others. Wash your hands often, avoid close contact with others, cover your mouth and nose with a mask when around others, cover coughs and sneezes, clean and disinfect, and monitor your health daily. And follow CDC guidelines if symptoms develop.

Vaccines, as you probably know, are medicines that help your body fight disease. If you’re like most people, you received vaccinations against a bunch of disorders – from chickenpox to whooping cough – when you were a kid. Vaccines work with your immune system to recognize and destroy harmful substances, such as disease-causing viruses, that attack your body.

Scientists today are exploring new and better ways to boost the power of the immune system, using vaccines aimed at battling cancer. Cancer vaccines can be used to prevent or treat cancer.

Preventive vaccines currently available include the HPV vaccine, which protects against human papillomavirus (HPV). An HPV infection can lead to cervical, vaginal, vulvar and anal cancer. The hepatitis B vaccine is another preventive cancer vaccine. Hepatitis B infection can cause liver cancer.

Vaccines to treat cancer are a type of immunotherapy because they work directly with your body’s immune system. Cancer treatment vaccines can do several things. These include destroying residual cancer cells after other treatments, stop a tumor from growing or spreading, and prevent cancer that was treated from coming back.

Currently, there are only a handful of active immunotherapies that are approved for treating cancer. There are, however, hundreds more being investigated in clinical trials, in which cancer patients can participate. Clinical trials are research studies that test the safety and effectiveness of new medications, therapies or devices.

While there are numerous cancer clinical trials ongoing, estimates suggest only three percent to six percent of eligible cancer patients participate in them. This not only slows the progress of new treatment development, it also means more than 90 percent of cancer patients may be missing out on potentially life-saving new treatments.

An example is a vaccine developed by researchers at the University of California San Diego Health and the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, which is currently in clinical trials. This vaccine, which is for people with deadly metastatic cancer, is specifically created to match each patient’s cancer mutations and immune system.

Study researchers begin by testing patients’ tumors and identifying the neoantigens, or mutations, that cause their immune systems to respond. Researchers then culture the neoantigens with the patients’ T-cells, a type of immune system cell, and give patients a series of three vaccines of the modified T-cells.

To ensure the T-cells remain activated once they reach patients’ tumors, researchers also give patients the immunotherapy medication Keytruda. The bolstered T-cells then go to work destroying the tumor cells.

Another clinical trial, led by researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine, tested a combination immunotherapy for the treatment of two types of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. The two types are diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma.

The treatment tested was a combination of an experimental antibody developed by researchers at Stanford and a commercially available anti-cancer antibody called rituximab.

The experimental antibody works by blocking CD47, a protein that inhibits immune cells called macrophages from attacking and devouring cancer cells. Rituximab amplifies signals to the macrophages to do their job of consuming the cancer cells.

The results of this small, multicenter clinical trial are promising. Half of the 22 people enrolled in phase 1 of the trial had a positive response to the therapy, and about one-third went into complete remission.

These are just two examples of clinical trials looking at new cancer treatments that take advantage of patients’ disease-fighting immune systems. Researchers are hosting many more trials to test vaccines for other types of cancer.

These include cancer of the bladder, breast, cervix, colon, rectum, kidneys, lungs, pancreas and prostate. Other clinical trials are investigating treatments for brain tumors, leukemia, melanoma and myeloma.

If you’re interested in participating in a clinical trial, talk with your doctor about appropriate studies for your situation. You can also look for clinical trials being conducted in your area at clinicaltrials.gov.

By participating in a clinical trial, you may discover a life-altering treatment that works for you when others have failed. You may also help make a new therapy available to others with cancer who previously had no hope. Talk to your doctor and consider taking part in a clinical trial.

Flu season typically runs from early October and can last into May.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends healthy adults and children be vaccinated to prevent the oftentimes deadly virus from spreading.

Symptoms of the flu come on suddenly and are worse than those of the common cold. Those symptoms may include:

• Body or muscle aches
• Chills
• Cough
• Fever
• Headache
• Sore throat

Flu-related hospitalizations since 2015 range from 140,000 to 710,000 annually, while flu-related deaths are estimated to have ranged from 12,000 to 56,000 that same year. During flu season, flu viruses circulate at higher levels amongst the US population.

Flu vaccines cause antibodies to develop in the body about two weeks after vaccination. These antibodies provide protection against infection with the viruses that are in the vaccine.

There are two types of flu vaccines – the flu shot and the nasal spray vaccine.

The flu shot contains active flu viruses. The shot is FDA approved for children over 6 months of age, healthy people and those with chronic medical conditions. Studies show that the flu shot were more than 70 percent effective, compared to 60 percent for the flu spray.

The nasal spray vaccine is also made of live, weakened flu viruses and is FDA approved for people aged 5-49 and who are not pregnant.2.

The best time to get vaccinated is before flu season begins. It generally takes about two weeks after receiving the vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body that protect against the virus. The CDC recommends that people get a flu vaccine by the end of November, if possible.  Getting vaccinated later, however, can still be beneficial and vaccination should continue to be offered throughout the flu season, even into January or later.

Vaccines are offered in many locations, including doctor’s offices, clinics, health departments, pharmacies, college health centers, as well as by many employers, and even in area schools.

While the single best way to prevent the flu virus is by getting vaccinated, there are still lifestyle changes you can implement to avoid contracting the illness including avoid close contact with those who are sick; cover your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, wash your hands frequently; avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, drinking plenty of fluids and maintain a healthy diet.

Florida Health Care News and the Centers for Disease Control agree that physicians who do not take a stand in support of childhood vaccines enable parents to leave their children unvaccinated, thereby putting others’ health at risk. The recent Disneyland outbreak of measles points to the troubling consequence that “opting out” of childhood vaccinations can pose.

Read More about Preventing a Measles Outbreak.