How does a COVID-19 test come back false negative? We’re talking to a doctor to find out how

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Dr. Jeff Mathison, chief medical officer for Ascension St. Vincent’s, said the COVID-19 testing being used most of the time is what’s called a PCR, or a polymerase chain reaction.

• Those are basically reactions that are stacked end-to-end on one another to amplify the amount of viral load that you have to be able to detect.
• Typically, Mathison said, a false negative occurs with a PCR when when the viral load, (or the number of viral particles falls) below the level of detection for the test.

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