After an initial verbal screening, one driver at a time gets a COVID-19 nasal swab test from a garbed health worker at a drive-up station in Daly City, Calif. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
lab tests
Dr. Deborah Birx, who coordinates the White House Coronavirus Task Force, criticized a test "where 50% or 47% are false positives" at a briefing on March 17. Kevin Dietsch/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
The test for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 isn't simple, like the ones for the flu, strep or pregnancy. The current kits are configured more for a research lab than a hospital. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hide caption
"Access to testing is really the major tool we have right now to fight this new coronavirus," says Dr. Keith Jerome, who runs a University of Washington lab in Seattle that can now test for the virus. Jonathan Hamilton/NPR hide caption
When Alexa Kasdan's sore throat lingered for more than a week, she went to her doctor. The doctor sent her throat swab and blood draw to an out-of-network lab for sophisticated DNA tests, resulting in a $28,395.50 bill. Shelby Knowles for Kaiser Health News hide caption
Lesley McClurg tests the at-home, over-the-counter food allergy test at KQED Headquarters in San Francisco, Calif., on April 11, 2018. Lauren Hanussak/KQED hide caption
Before filling one of these tubes with blood for a cholesterol test, you're supposed to keep your stomach empty. But that may not be necessary. Nancy Louie/iStockphoto.com hide caption
If there's a test for it, chances are a storefront lab is eager to help you have it done. iStockphoto.com hide caption
U.S. Navy doctors Lt. Cmdr Ralph Pickard (left) and Ens. Jesse Rohloff study a patient's mammogram images at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. CWO4 Seth Rossman/U.S. Navy hide caption