The best time to take an at-home COVID test is on the fourth day of symptoms.

As the article mentioned, viral replication peaks after 4 days of symptoms, so that is when it is most likely to set off the test. But this is also why taking medication that blocks viral replication is less effective after 4 days. Something that blocks viral replication is best taken before viral replication starts. Ivermectin requires a loading dose, so it may need an even earlier start.

If you want to see how they made HCQ+zinc and Ivermectin look ineffective in studies, separate the studies by when they gave the proper dose at the proper time and when they did not. Testing these drugs on hospitalized patients is always the wrong time to start treatment. However, drugs like Ivermectin have a mild anti inflammatory effect that is somewhat helpful when dealing with an excessive immune response. I do not know, but maybe some people still have viral replication in the hospital.

I have a better test. If you feel something coming on, start taking Ivermectin right away. If you feel better after 8 hours, then it was probably COVID or another coronavirus.