Abbott Labs has received emergency approval from the FDA for its rapid antigen test that detects COVID-19 in fifteen minutes. According to Brett Giroir, the United States Assistant Secretary for Health and the Department of Health and Human Services stated the test is a “game-changer.”
The FDA’s emergency use authorization for Abbott’s BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card is approximately the size of a credit card. BinaxNOW will cost $5 and include a free mobile app that will let people who test negative display a temporary, date-stamped health pass renewed each time a new test is taken.
The antigen test involves a nasal swab that uses the same type of technology as a flu test. Abbott announced it expects 50 million BinaxNOW tests a month produced by October.
Joseph Petrosino, a professor of virology at Baylor College of Medicine, expressed his enthusiasm for Abbott’s new COVID-19 test. He stated the test’s massive scale would allow millions of people to have access to quick and reliable COVID-19 testing. He added this would help get infectious people off the streets and into quarantine, limiting the virus’s spread.
The BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card is the fourth antigen test to receive an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration.
The antigen test looks for pieces of the virus that are not as reliable as the traditional Polymerase chain reaction test, which looks for the virus’s genetic material. However, they are faster, less expensive, and less invasive. PCR tests have been beset by supply chain problems and back-ups at labs, which have delayed results and cause confusion among patients, doctors, and public health officials.
Sources:
- https://www.abbott.com/BinaxNOW-Test-NAVICA-App.html
- https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/27/investing/abbott-labs-rapid-covid-test/index.html
- https://www.bcm.edu/people-search/joseph-petrosino-28634
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