Coronavirus: How do I report a Covid test result in the UK? Should I get tested after I've been vaccinated?

As testing continues to ramp up across the UK following rising Covid-19 cases, here’s how you can report a lateral flow test result in the UK

As spikes in Scottish coronavirus cases recently saw the country record its highest ever number of cases last week, the Scottish Government is continuing to stress the importance of getting tested for Cvid-19 regularly.

The Scottish Government has been asking that people without symptoms take two lateral flow tests a week, every 3-4 days, to ensure that they are not unwittingly passing on the new variant.

Coronavirus: How do I report a Covid test result in the UK? Should I get tested after I've been vaccinated? (Image credit: Getty Images)

Here’s what you need to know about reporting a Covid test result and whether you’re still at risk after having the vaccine.

How to report a Covid test result?

When taking a lateral flow test you should see your result appear on the device within half an hour of adding your specimen to it, with two lines displayed on the device at the C and T lines indicating a positive result – even if the second ‘T’ line is faint.

A negative result will show up as a single line across C, while an invalid result will be shown in a single T line or no lines at all.

Regardless of whether your result was positive or negative, you should still report it to the UK Government’s test reporting platform within 24 hours of getting it so that you can help to reduce the possibility for further spread of the virus in your local area and to vulnerable members of your community.

How to get a Covid test in Scotland, what a lateral flow test is and when to self-isolate

To report your result, you can do so online at the UK Government’s Covid-19 test report portal.

But you can also report your test result by calling the phone number in your test kit’s instructions.

After reporting your result you should soon receive a confirmation.

If you receive a positive lateral flow test result you should self-isolate and book a PCR test within 48 hours.

These will be sent to a lab to be tested once completed and do not require you to report the result yourself.

PCR test results usually take up to 48 hours or three days to receive.

Should I get tested after I've been vaccinated?

While your chances of getting coronavirus are much lower after having your first dose of the vaccine, scientists have increasingly warned that even having both doses of a vaccine does not make you fully immune to the virus.

This comes after many, like BBC presenter Andrew Marr, claimed to have caught Covid-19 after being double-vaccinated.

Such reports are an important reminder that while having both doses of the vaccine can offer protection rates of over 85%, they do not always offer complete immunity – especially as the virus continues to mutate and adapt.

If you notice any Delta variant symptoms or the common coronavirus symptoms of a high temperature, new cough and loss or change in sense of taste and smell, it’s a good idea to get tested as a precautionary measure.

But it is worth bearing in mind that vaccinations are currently playing a huge role reducing risk of serious illness in those testing positive for Covid-19 and that the vaccine itself, while having side effects which present similarly to symptoms, will not give you coronavirus.

Covid Scotland: How many Covid vaccinations and cases in my area? Use our vaccine tracker to follow uptake in Scotland

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