The USA FDA has given emergency approval to the first at-home rapid coronavirus testing kit. The results would be available in 30 minutes. Lucira Health is responsible for the development and manufacturing of the test kit. It could become the method of choice for fast testing on a mass scale and outside the healthcare facilities.
The First at-home rapid coronavirus test
Lucira Health has come out with the first-ever at-home rapid test for COVID-19. The US FDA has provided a green light to this test on an emergency level since the pandemic is raging high in the world still and especially in the USA. One can run the test from the start to the finish at home itself and also procure the results in less than an hour. It is a potential route to test for COVID-19 on a widespread scale and outside the healthcare settings.
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| Lucira's at-home test [Source: NYTimes] |
The company's website states that it needs just a nasal swab for testing and the results would be available in half-an-hour. Besides, it is not very expensive. 1 test costs $ 50. The company is based in California but will require a doctor's prescription to purchase it from the chemist. Also, children who are less than 14 years of age cannot perform the test on themselves or on others.
More about the Lucira Health test for coronavirus
The physicians can also perform the test on their patients. This would include on children less than the age of 14. The results of the test can be conveyed to the patient within a matter of an hour. The pharmacy can also administer the test on a person. The patient would get the result soon and will not have to make another trip to the clinic or pharmacy for it.
FDA has also cleared other similar tests wherein the sample can be collected at home but the processing will have to be done in the lab. But Lucira's test is the only one that can be completely carried out at home and needs no lab for its completion.
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| First at-home COVID-19 test [Source: Healthline] |
Jeff Shuren, Director of FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health issued a statement that read:
“Today’s authorization for a complete at-home test is a significant step toward F.D.A.’s nationwide response to Covid-19,”
“Now, more Americans who may have Covid-19 will be able to take immediate action, based on their results, to protect themselves and those around them.”
And those who test positive with this special at-home kit should honestly isolate themselves from others around for at least 10 days. The gold standard test is still the detection of the genetic material of the virus by means of PCR (Polymerase Chair reaction). In this new test, a similar principle called a loop-mediated amplification reaction or LAMP. In this test, the genetic material is repeatedly copied to reach the detectable levels. It is a faster and less cumbersome test but not as accurate as PCR.
Test method or protocol
For the test, the person has to swirl the provided swab inside both the nostrils to pick up the sample. This is then dipped into a vial containing some chemicals. This vial is then inserted into a test cartridge that processes it and will report it as positive or negative. It is a battery-powered test.  |
| Easy-to-administer and read at-home COVID-19 test [Source: WDEL.com] |
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But federal guidelines also state that those who test positive should report it to their health care provider and help the authorities to check on the viral spread. The test is said to be 94 % accurate and can specifically identify 98% of uninfected healthy people. But the company's study sample size was small and they used it only on COVID-19 patients while the trials phase. But the FDA has decided to sanction its use considering the critical situation of the virus in the USA.
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