The first COVID-19 self-testing kit has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on November 17, 2020. The new self-testing kit will give results within 30 minutes. Lucira Health has made the single-use test and has been given an emergency authorization. The kit can be used at home and the users can collect the sample themselves from individuals between the age 14 and older. It is recommended that the kit should be used only by those who are suspected to have COVID-19 and is recommended by their healthcare provider.
Stephen Hahn the FDA Commissioner of FDA said that the COVID-19 diagnostic tests have been authorized for people who want to collect the samples at home and is the first that can be completely self-administered and the results of it can also be obtained at home. The health regulator has also pointed out that the kits can be used at hospitals or point-of-care settings, but in case of suspects who are younger than 14 years, the sample should be collected by a healthcare provider.
Pharma giants like Moderna and Pfizer have given hopes that the potential vaccine is on the way and is expected to be out soon, but testing continues to remain the key to contain the virus and stop the spread. Maximum number of tests allows people to be careful and if they test positive, they can isolate themselves early and their respective contacts can also be traced effectively.
This is the reason a number of nations stress on maximum number of tests everyday that helps to stop any further spread of the virus. Jeff Shuren, the director of the FDA’s Centre for Devices and Radiological Health said that they are proactively looking forward with the test developers to support the availability of more such tests that could be done at home. Talking about the infections in the United States, it crossed 11 million infections during the weekend in just eight days it had reached 10 million mark.
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