Attention!
If you feel like you are having a medical emergency, please call 9-1-1.
If you are experiencing severe trouble breathing, continuous pain or pressure in your chest, feeling confused or having difficulty waking up, blue-colored lips or face, or any other emergency signs or symptoms, please seek immediate medical care.
How it works
Request Your COVID-19 Test Kit
Take our medically-guided quiz to determine whether you are eligible to access testing. An independent licensed clinician will review, and if appropriate, approve your order.
Receive Your Box
We'll send everything you need to collect and return your nasal swab sample to your door. We ship overnight back to the lab.
Get Results
Your sample will be processed by our CLIA-certified laboratories within 48 hours from receipt and licensed clinicians will review your results and provide medically-guided recommendations.
Though YOU are providing the sample, binx is here for you!
- You can return your sample to a convienent drop-off location or our shipping provider can pick up from your home, meaning you can isoldate or quarantine as may be appropriate.
- The binx health At-home Nasal Sample Collection Kit and our lab partners have received Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA. Additionally, we only work with labs that are CLIA-certified.
- If your test results are abnormal, a licensed clinician will attempt to contact you to notify you of your results and schedule a telehealth consult with a healthcare provider. All patients will have the option to speak to a clinician about their results.
- Our testing complies with all national and local laws regarding mandatory result reporting to public health agencies.
About COVID-19
COVID-19 is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Infection with the virus can range from being asymptomatic to life-threatening respiratory illness. Infection has been detected globally and in all 50 states. Symptoms associated with COVID-19 include cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever, chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat or new loss of taste or smell.
COVID-19 can present with severe illness in individuals of any age and without any previous health problems, but the risk for severe illness from COVID-19 increases with age, with older adults at highest risk. Having underlying medical conditions may also increase one’s risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
You should consult with your healthcare provider before using this test if you have any concerning symptoms or if you have any of the risk factors for severe illness.
- Cancer
- Chronic kidney disease
- COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
- Immunocompromised state (weakened immune system) from solid organ transplant or bone marrow transplant, immune deficiencies, HIV, use of corticosteroids, or use of other immune weakening medicines
- Obesity (body mass index [BMI] of 30 or higher)
- Serious heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
- Sickle cell disease
- Type 2 diabetes mellitus
- Asthma (moderate-to-severe)
- Cerebrovascular disease (affects blood vessels and blood supply to the brain)
- Cystic fibrosis
- Hypertension or high blood pressure
- Neurologic conditions, such as dementia
- Liver disease
- Pregnancy
- Pulmonary fibrosis (having damaged or scarred lung tissues)
- Smoking
- Thalassemia (a type of blood disorder)
- Type 1 diabetes mellitus
Our test
This test determines if an individual is actively infected with COVID-19 and can spread it to others. It uses a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) to check for genetic material (viral RNA) produced by the virus.
binx COVID-19 box
Tests for:
Who is this for?
The PCR test may be right if:- You have symptoms of COVID-19 (such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath)
- You don’t have symptoms but may have been exposed to COVID-19
- You don’t have symptoms but live or work in a place where people reside, meet, or gather in close proximity*
- Your public health department, contact investigator, or healthcare provider has identified you as someone who should get tested
*Includes healthcare settings, homeless shelters, assisted living facilities, group homes, prisons, detention centers, schools, and workplaces
Frequently asked questions
Coronavirus disease 2019, abbreviated as COVID-19, is an infectious disease caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) not previously seen in humans. The virus responsible for the disease belongs within the same category of viruses (coronaviruses) that cause other mild upper-respiratory tract illnesses, like the common cold. It was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. Now, it is in almost every country in the world.
COVID-19 is extremely contagious and spreads mainly through respiratory droplets from infected people. When an infected person coughs, sneezes, or just talks, these droplets are spread through the surrounding air and can land on others or be inhaled by others. The closer and longer you are interacting with an infected person, the more likely it is that you will become infected. Infectious droplets can also land on surfaces touched by other people who then can contract the virus by then touching their eyes, nose, or mouth. There is no evidence that COVID-19 is spread by ticks or mosquitoes, and the risk of transmission to and from animals is low. Similarly, there is no evidence that you can contract the virus from drinking water and little risk in contracting the virus from eating food or handling its packaging.
Many have only mild symptoms, and some have no symptoms at all. About 80% of people with COVID-19 are able to recover without hospital care. When symptoms do occur, they can appear 2-14 days after being exposed to the virus and may include:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
In some cases, symptoms become severe and a person may require intensive care. If you notice any of the following signs or symptoms, seek emergency care immediately:
- Difficulty breathing
- Confusion
- Inability to stay awake
- Bluish lips or face
- Persistent chest pressure or pain
This list does not cover all possible symptoms. Please discuss any other symptoms you may have with your healthcare provider. If you call 9-1-1 for emergency assistance, notify the operator that you are seeking care for someone who has or may have COVID-19. If you decide to go to an urgent care facility, call ahead to notify them that you are arriving with someone who has or may have COVID-19.
At this time there are no specific treatments or vaccines for COVID-19 that have been shown to cure or prevent the disease. Most people can manage the symptoms of COVID-19 as they would the common cold by drinking plenty of fluids, getting lots of rest, and avoiding alcohol and caffeine. However, if symptoms worsen, it’s important to seek healthcare from a professional.
To get tested, check your state or local health department for testing location options. You can also check with occupational health or university health services for options unique to your employment or institution. It is important to call testing locations ahead of time to determine how long it will take to receive results, cost of testing, and wait times at the testing center. These things can change rapidly and website information may be outdated. If you have symptoms, be sure to call your primary care provider before getting tested.
There are two main categories of COVID-19 tests: viral and antibody testing. The viral test, often called a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test, detects the presence of the virus that causes COVID-19, and determines if you have an active infection. The antibody test detects the proteins that fight off infection and may detect if you have had a previous COVID-19 infection. These tests should not be used to detect a current infection as antibodies may only appear about 1-3 weeks after infection.
A positive viral test result means that it is likely you are currently infected with COVID-19. A negative viral test result means that it is unlikely you were infected at the time of sample collection. However, sometimes there is not enough virus present early in an infection to detect and you may still be infectious or become sick later on. It is also possible for you to be exposed and become infected with the virus after your test. As with any medical test, inaccurate results (i.e., false positives or negatives) are possible. For this reason, it is important that you continue taking preventative measures such as wearing a mask and social distancing.
A positive antibody test result means you may have antibodies from an infection with the virus that causes COVID-19. However, there is a chance that a positive result means you have antibodies from an infection with a different virus from the same family of viruses (called coronaviruses). Having antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19 may provide protection from getting infected with the virus again. But even if it does, it is unknown how much protection the antibodies provide or how long this protection lasts. A negative antibody test means you may not have ever had COVID-19 or you may have a current infection. It typically takes 1–3 weeks after infection for your body to make antibodies, so if you are early on in your infection the antibody test may be negative.
For viral, or PCR, testing, it is possible to get a false positive (where you are truly negative but test positive) or false negative (where you are truly positive but test negative) result. The rate of reported false negative results ranges from 2-37% while the false positive rate is only 5%. This means that it is potentially more likely to test negative while actually having the infection (false negative) than to test positive when not having the infection (false positive). For this reason, it is important that you continue taking preventative measures such as wearing a mask and social distancing even if you feel well and test negative. Similarly, it is important to stay home if you feel sick even if you test negative.
Viral testing works by collecting material from specific sites and testing it for the presence of the virus. This testing can be performed with multiple different sample types including, nasopharyngeal, nasal and throat swabs, as well as saliva. Sample collection is quick, easy and painless in most cases. Samples can be self-collected or clinician-collected depending on the particular test.