I’ve seen many tests (we’re talking the average retail 4-drop kits) come up with varying degrees of positivity as a person goes through a bout with COVID.
Once they test positive, it’s usually coming up with that T indicator long before the C shows to.
However, I’ve noticed that even that length of time for the T to show can vary. Sometimes it starts faded and fills in but sometimes the line can go full color as soon as the liquid hits it. Other times it may take a while and come up after the C (once closer to getting over it).
My thought here is the virus particles per million in a person’s mucus are fluctuating during the course of their sickness and the more virus particles, the faster that bar is going to pop on the COVID test.
So then, is it stupid to think the faster the T shows up, the more infectious a person is with their coughing/sneezing?
Very firmly no. Even PCRs are not useful. People can pull out an example of “my friend infected me when her test said X” but that’s just coincidence. This has been studied extensively during COVID and there is no reliable correlation between test value and infectivity.