In the two years of the pandemic, every cough and every sneeze was accompanied by a problem.

The only way to get the answer-is it allergies, or are you just exposing everyone in this salad bar to a brand new Greek alphabet? ——To be tested.

But conducting a COVID test is a test in itself.

With the increase in COVID cases, the overcrowding of hospitals and the imminent holiday travel, Minnesota people are scrambling to make appointments at testing centers or purchase over-the-counter testing kits.

This is why I coughed after a long queue at a community checkpoint in the Minneapolis Convention Center last Monday.

Vaccines are like seat belts. They cannot prevent something from hitting you-but they will greatly increase your chances of getting out of that crash.

I was vaccinated twice. I was just vaccinated and coughed like a seal. I started looking for answers.

The free state-run testing site in my community — one of many around Minnesota — closed on the day I started coughing. I have other options. I could have looked for a rapid test kit in the aisle of the pharmacy. I could drive around looking for another test site with an appointment. I could have sent a home saliva test kit that Minnesota provides to everyone free of charge.

All of this sounds like a lot of effort, so I lay in bed and spent the weekend wondering which cough syrup would go best with the Hallmark Christmas movie.

On Monday, I reached the front of the team in 40 minutes and got the result the next day. Not a new coronavirus. bronchitis. The victory of the vaccine, the defeat of my lungs.

In the ideal United States, we would conduct COVID testing several times a week to prevent people from spreading the virus before they realize they are sick.

But in the United States, COVID has caused nearly 800,000 deaths, and COVID testing is still confusing, time-consuming, and—if you want to buy an over-the-counter rapid test for $14-25 for a family for $14-25 Four-expensive.

Ryan Demmer, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, said: “This virus spreads mainly before symptoms appear.” “Most people are probably the most contagious one or two days before symptoms appear. ... the fact that this virus spreads asymptomatically is one of the main drivers of the pandemic."

One way to determine whether the community has conducted enough tests to contract COVID before more people are infected is to study the positive rate of tests.

The World Health Organization warns that if more than 5% of COVID test results are positive, it may mean that we are mainly testing patients, not asymptomatic people.

In Minnesota — the state has gone to great lengths to make testing more affordable and accessible — the positive rate last week was 10%.

As the Demmer family has seen first-hand, even if you don't feel uncomfortable, it's worth the effort.

"We are planning to go to the wedding, and out of caution, for safety reasons, we conducted an antigen test at home," he said. "I don't want to attend a large wedding with my grandparents and many other disadvantaged groups." One of the children tested positive. The next day, the second child also tested positive.

"And we will never know this," he said. "We could have gone to the wedding with two positive people in the family, and then they would go to school."

Quick tests are not perfect, but even if they only detect 85% of COVID-positive testers, Demer said, “It’s better than what we have now, and only a few of them finally know that they are infectious in time to avoid spreading to other people."

When Minnesota's hero Pete McGinn traveled home from New York City with some unwelcome viral baggage, the state witnessed the raw power of always testing.

After hearing that a friend at the animation conference he attended tested positive, McGinn, who felt no discomfort at all, took the test at home. When the test result was positive, he walked into the testing point of the Minneapolis Convention Center to help the Minnesota Department of Health track the state's first confirmed case of the omicron variant.

Alex Pastuszak, chief clinical officer of Vault Health, said: "The good news is that we have more tests available than when the pandemic started, and more and more point-of-care tests are also available. Good." Order the COVID testing program and many community testing sites.

The United States may not have the large-scale testing infrastructure you see in Europe, but if you are looking for testing, Minnesota is easier and cheaper than most states.

"The vaccine is effective. There is no other way to express it more bluntly and effectively," Pastaszak said. "That said, people can still be infected, and people can still spread it. Is there any way to keep the door open and prevent people from getting sick? The answer is testing."

If you are seeking help with testing, please check the Minnesota Department of Health Testing Resources page: health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/testsites/index.html.

Jennifer Brooks is a local columnist for the Star Tribune. She traveled around Minnesota, writing thoughtful and surprising stories about residents and issues.

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