New fast coronavirus test that gives results in 45 MINUTES is approved today and will be available in a week
A NEW coronavirus test that gives results in 45 minutes was approved today and will be available in a week, reports say.
THE FDA authorized a COVID-19 test which will reportedly be available in hospitals and emergency rooms by the end of the month – diagnosing patients in under an hour.
Speaking about the “point-of-care” test developed by the company Cepheid, HHS Secretary Alex Azar said it was a significant development amid the ongoing crisis.
The need for more testing comes after at least 285 Americans died from the deadly virus which emerged in Wuhan, China and has infected nearly 25,000 in the US.
“The company plans to roll it out by March 30, which is an incredibly rapid timeline for such an effort,” Azar said.
“With new tools like point-of-care diagnostics, we are moving into a new phase of testing, where tests will be much more easily accessible to Americans who need them.
“With the development of point of care diagnostics, Americans who need tests will be able to get results faster than ever before.”
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn revealed the team had been “working nonstop” to quicken up the review and authorization for the rapid test.
“Today marks an important step in expanding the availability of testing and, importantly, rapid results,” Hahn said.
He explained the term “point-of-care” meant patients could get these rapid results in hospitals, urgent care centers and emergency rooms, instead of samples being sent to a laboratory.
This means US coronavirus patients have “access to more immediate results,” Hahn said.
The test can be used in a doctor’s office but hospitals and emergency rooms will be the first to get it when it’s on sale from March 30.
It was made to work with Cepheid’s GeneXpert Systems.
There are 5,000 of these in the US and some 23,000 around the world.
Trump previously urged the FDA to “move fast” and put coronavirus drugs in use immediately.
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But Dr Anthony Fauci, a director at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, had said there was “no magic drug for coronavirus right now” as news of a rapid test emerged.
The news comes as nearly 80 million residents are now being ordered to stay home amid the pandemic, after New Jersey followed emergency measures enacted in New York, California, and Illinois.
There are over 21,000 people infected with coronavirus in the US after the deadly virus emerged in Wuhan, China, and spread to Europe, America, and Canada.
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