Fact Finders: Are COVID rapid test kits safe for your baby?

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - Many of us scrambled in recent weeks to find at-home rapid COVID-19 test kits. A mom read the instructions on the box and had questions. She says, “The at-home tests say they’re for ages 2 and up. If you use them on a baby, are you putting your baby in danger and making a mistake?”

The instructions from BinaxNOW say, “The test is indicated for all people aged 15 years or older and for children as young as two years old when samples are collected by an adult.”

Another brand says, “Safe for children as young as 2 years old.”

Chief Medical Officer of The Springfield-Greene County Health Department Doctor Nancy Yoon tells us the rapid test kits may not give the best results for those younger than 2.

“It’s not exactly known how accurate they are, for children who are less than two, because they haven’t been studied in that way. But having said that, if a person did take a test, and it was positive, and everything kind of fits with COVID, like they’re having symptoms, or other people in the family also had COVID, then it’s probably fairly accurate,” explained Dr. Yoon.

Dr. Yoon says if you have a baby, and the home test does not fit the symptoms. You may need to get a PCR test at the doctor’s office. That test uses a different way to identify the virus. And, that type of test may take 1-to-2 days for a result.

We contacted 3 manufacturers of the rapid test kits for comment. They have not responded to us at this point.

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