Being sick with Rhinovirus, I figured it was a good chance to test the effect of different sample methods on PCR results / sensitivity.

This is just one data point, but it’s amazing to me just how close ON, Nasal and NP came out. I’m definitely not giving myself more NP swabs!

*: This is a self-administered NP swab, probably a professional could do better. But I managed to get the same eye-watering throat-tickle that I’ve felt when a nurse does it, so I definitely hit my nasopharynx!

Also this chart shows one reason why absolute Cq values are pretty meaningless without context / quantification. Choice of fluorophore is one of a dozen sample & PCR details which can offset the value up or down by several logs!