Just because you test negative doesn’t mean you’re virus-free

Let’s start with a question: If more Americans are vaccinated than ever before, why are Covid infection rates higher than ever before? Clearly, something is wrong.

After years of problem-solving, none of which was in a pandemic situation, I decided to look to see if I could find a root cause. Fortunately, or unfortunately, a personal experience provided unexpected answers.

On Dec. 5, I had a conversation with someone that works for me. He was fine, but later that day, he and his wife were feeling terrible. They tested themselves for Covid, and both were positive. He called to let me know.

Oh no, I’ve been exposed! I had a doctor’s appointment the next day and called to let them know. As you probably know, doctors don’t want to see anyone who might actually be sick with Covid. “Let’s reschedule. You should get tested.”

“OK, where should I go?” “Lawrence General. They have a massive testing site on Canal Street.”

I didn’t want to cancel anything else, so I hustled down there after breakfast. It didn’t look that bad from the outside, but once you were in, you couldn’t get out. I was in line over 2 hours in my car!

If they didn’t call me within two days, I was negative. I’m fortunate to have a sister who’s an RN. She’s my chief medical advisor. After I knew I was “negative,” I called to tell her the good news.

“Sorry. It’s probably a false negative.

You have to wait five to seven days to get an accurate test.”

Now, I was furious. Why didn’t the doctor’s office tell me that? I had wasted an entire morning and who knows how much gas. I told her I was never going back to that test site.

So I split the difference. I went on Day 6 to a test site in New Hampshire. It was a rainy Saturday morning. I figured with the bad weather the line wouldn’t be long. They opened at 8 a.m., and I was in line at 7:40 under an umbrella. The woman in front of me said she had come the day before, and the line wrapped around the building. So, she decided to come back early on a rainy morning. It worked!

They tested me, and then a doctor came in. She said, “If you develop any Covid symptoms next week, come back and we’ll test you again.”

“Wait a minute! Are you telling me I could still have Covid in me if I test negative?” “Yes.”

“How long?” “Fourteen days from the time of exposure.”

It sounds like the tests can’t detect Covid unless it’s active within us. Since day one, they’ve said it can lie dormant up to 14 days before becoming active (i.e., you develop symptoms, etc.). In that time frame, we don’t know we have it and could inadvertently be infecting others.

Think of the bell-shaped curve of normal variation; put Day 1 all the way to the left and Day 14 all the way to the right, five to seven days are at the top of the bell, slightly skewed. That’s when most infections become active, and symptoms develop. OK, that makes sense.

Unfortunately, I think most people believe as I did, that if you test negative, you’re Covid-free, and that’s not necessarily true.

Cruise lines, travel excursions, even businesses force participants to test negative before embarking. This would explain how some get sick with Covid during the trip. I recently read of several cruise ships, including the Queen Mary II, being denied entry to ports because they have active Covid cases on board.

Admittedly, we’ve made a lot of progress against these horrible viruses. The tests are far from perfect, as are the vaccines, but they’re the best we’ve got. We have to understand their limitations and not expect more than they’re capable of delivering.

With all the controversy and misinformation, there’s a lot of confusion, which is probably a major cause of the extremely high infection rates. We have to explain the limitations more clearly, so we truly understand the need for caution.

Like many others, I assumed testing negative means you have nothing to worry about, and it’s just not true.

Ronald J. Bourque, a consultant and speaker from Salem, has had engagements throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. He can be reached at 603-898-1871 or RonBourque3@gmail.com.