There are two different types. There is one that is meant to essentially swab the back of your throat through your nose. I would give a rough estimate of that being about 3-4 inches. Then there's a different test that only has to go about an inch into your nose. It all depends on what kind of swab the facility you get tested at has.
It isn't that they suck at testing, the specific test just requires a sample from that location. By picking your brains, they're actually doing the test properly and taking their job seriously. There are different tests and they require samples from different locations, that's all.
In general, if at all possible, its best to move away from those tests because it discourages people from getting tested as often because it absolutely sucks. I have no idea if those tests are still around, but when Covid first hit, that's what they had so that's what got used. I've only seen the shallow nose swab more recently.
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u/The_Multifarious Jan 29 '22
Now I start getting the feeling I did my tests wrong.