At-home COVID-19 testing has become more routine, but early in the surge of the omicron variant, there were questions about how well the self-test kits worked at detecting the variant.Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Cham Medical School now say those fears appear to have been unfounded.A new UMass Chan study used data from more than 5,700 patients who received both at-home antigen tests and PCR tests. The study found that 92% of people who tested positive for COVID-19 with a PCR test also tested positive on an at-home antigen test within 48 hours.Dr. Nate Hafer, an assistant professor at the UMass Chan Medical School, said these results should give people high confidence that at-home COVID-19 testing is effective — with the caveat that they need to be used correctly.”The antigen tests come in two packs and the reason that they do is they have been authorized for serial use,” Hafer said. “In other words, you’re supposed to take a test, wait 24 to 36 hours, and take a second test. That really provides the highest level of performance and it’s very much on par with a PCR test.”Hafer said at-home COVID-19 tests are still the most effective at detecting symptomatic infection, as people without symptoms may not see a positive test for one or two days as the viral load builds.This kind of self-testing technology may only expand, as Hafer said Johns Hopkins is currently studying at-home tests for sexually-transmitted diseases.