Statement From LA County Department of Health Services On COVID-19 PCR Tests

LOS ANGELES — As a precaution, the LA County Department of Health Services or DHS will discontinue the use of the Curative COVID-19 PCR tests at its county-supported pop-up testing sites. The change, which will take place this week, comes after a review of the data that prompted the recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration alert about the possibility of false negative results.

Curative provided a limited number of tests at county-supported pop-up testing sites beginning in mid-December. Between Dec. 13, 2020 and Jan. 2, 2021, 24,241 Curative tests were administered at those sites. That made up about 10% of all COVID-19 tests administered at County-supported test sites during that same time frame. The Curative tests will be replaced with Fulgent Genetics tests.

According to DHS, all COVID-19 tests have a risk of false negative results —  meaning that you may test negative when you actually have COVID-19. That’s because the sensitivity depends on how well the sample was collected and the concentration of viral RNA in the sample. There is no reliable way to detect early infection, meaning that infection often spreads before symptoms develop. Nevertheless, PCR tests, including the Curative test, remain better at detecting disease than other tests, including rapid tests.

If you have COVID-19 symptoms or have been exposed to COVID-19, we encourage you to get tested. Call your health care provider for a COVID-19 test. If you cannot get a test through a healthcare provider, find a test site near you through the LA County testing website. Even if you test negative, it is critically important to self-isolate for 14 days after exposure or 10 days after symptoms start. You may still have COVID-19 and spread it to others.

Details: covid19.lacounty.gov/testing