Going to a Super Bowl Party? Now Is the Time to Start COVID Testing

Nearly 193 million adults in the U.S. plan to watch the 2023 Super Bowl this Sunday, and over 100 million will be at watch parties.

If you plan to tune in to the big game with a group, health experts recommend taking not just one rapid COVID test beforehand to ensure a negative, but two or more. And the first test should happen now.

This method of repeat testing following an initial negative result is called serial testing, and became a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommendation in August 2022.

“It is still suggested to repeat the antigen testing if an initial test was negative. Identifying positive individuals will interrupt cycles of transmission of the virus,” Heba Mostafa, PhD, MBBCh, associate professor of pathology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of the Molecular Virology Laboratory at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, told Verywell in an email. 

The goal of repeat testing is to reduce the risk of false negatives and to prevent people from unknowingly spreading COVID to others.

When to Test

Anyone attending an event is encouraged to test for COVID, regardless of whether or not they have symptoms. Mostafa said you should take your first test up to four days prior to a gathering and second test 48 hours later or on the day of the event.

For example, if you plan to host or attend a Super Bowl party, ideally, you should take your first rapid test on Thursday and a second test on Sunday, the day of the event. 

“It might be a good approach to do repeat testing with a second test on the day of a large gathering, particularly for symptomatic individuals and when vulnerable populations might be exposed” Mostafa said.

However, if you can’t meet this general testing timeline, other experts say you can still take a rapid test at least a day before gathering with friends and family and potentially a second test the day of the event.

“People usually wait 24 hours and I think 24 is probably the best. That’s why I suggested if you are going to test, test on Saturday, and if you think you need to retake it, you could test again on Sunday,” Sharon Nachman, MD, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, told Verywell.

Nachman added that taking two rapid at-home tests should be sufficient for the general public. However, those who want to take extra precautions can go to their local testing facility, pharmacy, or health care provider to take a PCR test.

“Two rapid tests is probably the best that you could do in the timeframe that you have the ability to do it. Some people are going to go out and get PCR testing—I understand why they’re doing it, and I don’t want to stop them from doing it,” Nachman said. “But, I think for the general run-of-the-mill situation, two rapid tests is probably going to be pretty sufficient.”

What If You Have COVID Symptoms? 

If you are experiencing any symptoms related to a COVID-19 infection, including cough, sore throat, or allergy symptoms, you should not attend any gatherings at all, Mark Kline, MD, physician-in-chief at Children’s Hospital of New Orleans, told Verywell in an email.

Beyond taking multiple at-home tests before a Super Bowl get-together, Kline said people can follow other health measures, such as masking, social distancing, gathering in well-ventilated areas or the outdoors, and getting boosted to add another layer of protection against the virus for themselves and others. 

The information in this article is current as of the date listed, which means newer information may be available when you read this. For the most recent updates on COVID-19, visit our coronavirus news page.