CNBC anchor Shepard Smith is the latest TV newser to test positive for the coronavirus.
The veteran newsman made the announcement Wednesday on his 7 p.m. newscast, and he has been broadcasting The News with Shepard Smith from his home studio.
Smith asked anesthesiologist Dr. Robby Sikka about the efficacy of the rapid test. He said that he recently went to see a doctor after experiencing Covid symptoms, and tested negative. However, he did a self test later, using a throat swab, not a nasal swab (which has been done in other countries). That particular test came out positive.
Needless to say, this ordeal has made Smith (and certainly others) have doubts about rapid Covid tests’ reliability in the initial days after infection.
Here’s what Dr. Sikka had to say regarding Smith’s case, and whether throat swabs make sense as it pertains to the Omicron variant.
Shepard Smith says he has Covid right now, but when a doctor first tested him it was negative. The next day he tested himself by swabbing his throat and was positive. Our question for Dr. @robbysikka: should the government recommend testing for omicron using a throat swab? pic.twitter.com/VLMy6Jh7G2
— The News with Shepard Smith (@thenewsoncnbc) January 6, 2022