‘Nearly two months after federal regulators unveiled rules for at-home coronavirus tests, no company has federal approval to sell these fast and cheap tests even though the technology is ready.
‘Molecular PCR tests processed at medical labs remain the standard of accurate testing, but they are more expensive and results can take days to process. Antigen tests are less expensive, plentiful and deliver results in minutes. Three companies gained Food and Drug Administration authorization to sell antigen testing instruments to labs or clinics. A fourth company, Abbott Laboratories, won approval to market a $5 rapid, credit card-sized test administered by a health care professional.
‘But no company has been cleared to sell tests directly to consumers for widespread screening – a step some believe is necessary to slow the spread of COVID-19, as more than 200,000 Americans have died and people worry about safely returning to work, school, travel or sporting events. “The way to get this under control is if people find out as early as possible they are infected and then quarantine from others,” said Dr. Yukari Manabe, a Johns Hopkins University professor of medicine.’
Read here (USA Today, Sept 25, 2020)
