Lateral flow assays have played a critical role in COVID-19 testing as they have the benefit of delivering a result in 15–30 minutes. The systematic evaluation of lateral flow assays during the COVID-19 pandemic was initiated at Oxford University as part of a UK collaboration with Public Health England. A study that started in June 2020 in the United Kingdom, FALCON-C19, confirmed the sensitivity of some lateral flow devices (LFDs) in this setting. Four out of 64 LFDs tested had desirable performance characteristics according to these early tests; the Innova SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Qualitative Test performed moderately in viral antigen detection/sensitivity with excellent specificity, although kit failure rates and the impact of training were potential issues. The Innova test's specificity is more widely publicised, but sensitivity in phase 4 trials was 50.1%. This describes a device for which one out of every two patients infected with COVID-19 and tested in real-world conditions would receive a false-negative result. After closure of schools in January 2021, biweekly LFTs were introduced in England for teachers, pupils, and households of pupils when schools re-opened on March 8, 2021 for asymptomatic testing. Biweekly LFT were made universally available to everyone in England on April 9, 2021. LFTs have been used for mass testing for COVID-19 globally and complement other public health measures for COVID-19.
Some scientists outside government expressed serious misgivings in late 2020 about the use of Innova LFDs for screening for Covid. According to Jon Deeks, a professor of biostatistics at the University of Birmingham, England, the Innova test is "entirely unsuitable" for community testing: "as the test may miss up to half of cases, a negative test result indicates a reduced risk of Covid, but does not exclude Covid".
Sensitivity of tests used in 2022 was around 70%.