The US has given a boost to its efforts to conduct more COVID-19 trials after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted permission to the Emergency Use Authority for a kit made by Abbott Laboratories.
This test, named BinaxNOW, takes just 15 minutes for a result, and costs only $ 5. It includes a nasal swab procedure conducted by health professionals and a small reactive card displaying the results.
Abbott said it plans to ship millions of test kits in September, which could be up to 50 million units a month in early October.
BinaxNOW is an antigen test that allows for faster results than more heavy PCR tests that require lab equipment and may take weeks or even weeks before a patient receives a result.
The speed gains that come with antigen tests may mean less reliable results, but in a clinical study by Abbott with several major US research universities, the Binaxov test correctly diagnosed the disease 97.1% of the time, Whereas without ruling correctly. This is 98.5% of the time.
The Illinois-based company will begin its testing with a mobile app called Navica that can act as a “temporary digital health pass” for those who test negative.
“This first-of-its-kind app, available at no charge, will allow people who perform negative tests to display a temporary digital health pass that results from testing each time a person passes through their healthcare provider. The test is done with a date of. , ”Abbott said in a release. “Organizations will be able to view and verify information on a mobile device to enter facilities with hand washing, social disturbances, enhanced cleaning and wearing of masks.”
Robert B., President and Chief Executive Officer of Abbott. “Binaxo and Navica apps provide us with an inexpensive, easy-to-use, scalable test, and a complementary digital health tool to help us get a little more normal in our daily lives,” Ford said.
Abbott’s news comes days after the FDA issued an Emergency Use Authority for the use of convulsive blood plasma in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
The US is currently the most affected country in terms of COVID-19 deaths, with a count of over 183,000 as of August 26, 2020.
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