For COVID-19 screening, testing often and fast beats using the most sensitive test
In short: Researchers who modeled how SARS-CoV-2 levels rise and fall after infection simulated repeated population screening programs. They found that testing people more often and returning results faster caught infectious people far better than using a more sensitive test, which added only a small extra benefit.
The model captured the typical pattern of viral load after infection: an undetectable incubation period, a rise to a peak, then decline. This explains why frequent repeat testing can catch many infections even with a test that misses low viral loads on one occasion, provided results come back quickly enough to act on.
This is a modelling study, not a real-world trial, so its conclusions rest on simulated viral dynamics rather than observed testing outcomes in people.
Why it matters: How often and how fast you test may matter more for catching infectious people than how sensitive the test is.
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Sources
- Source: Research: Larremore et al. (2021). Test sensitivity is secondary to frequency and turnaround time for COVID-19 screening. Science Advances. · cc-by-nc
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