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This COVID-19 test costs $5 and works quickly like a pregnancy test. It may be available soon

Abbott’s BinaxNOW test acts like a pregnancy test

By Herb Scribner Herb Scribnerhscribner@deseretnews.com
SHARE This COVID-19 test costs $5 and works quickly like a pregnancy test. It may be available soon
This image provided by Abbott Laboratories in August 2020 shows the company’s BinaxNOW rapid COVID-19 nasal swab test. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, authorized BinaxNOW, the first rapid coronavirus test that doesn’t need any special computer equipment to get results.

This image provided by Abbott Laboratories in August 2020 shows the company’s BinaxNOW rapid COVID-19 nasal swab test. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, authorized BinaxNOW, the first rapid coronavirus test that doesn’t need any special computer equipment to get results.

Associated Press

The Food and Drug Administration approved a new COVID-19 test that takes 15 minutes to run without needing any lab equipment.

What is the test?

  • The test — called BinaxNOW, developed by health care company Abbott — uses the same technology as a pregnancy test (since it shows results in minutes) to determine if someone has COVID-19.
  • The test costs $5.
  • BinaxNOW “can be used as a first line of defense to identify people who are currently infected and who should isolate themselves to help prevent the spread of the disease,” Abbot said.
  • Abbot said the test has a sensitivity of 97.1% and a specificity of 98.5% based on a clinical study.
This image provided by Abbott Laboratories in August 2020 shows the company’s BinaxNOW rapid COVID-19 nasal swab test. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, authorized BinaxNOW, the first rapid coronavirus test that doesn’t need any special computer equipment to get results.

This image provided by Abbott Laboratories in August 2020 shows the company’s BinaxNOW rapid COVID-19 nasal swab test. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, authorized BinaxNOW, the first rapid coronavirus test that doesn’t need any special computer equipment to get results.

Associated Press

What’s next?

  • The company plans to make 50 million tests per month by October.
  • The FDA said the test could be used in doctors’ offices, emergency rooms and schools.
The massive scale of this test and app will allow tens of millions of people to have access to rapid and reliable testing. With lab-based tests, you get excellent sensitivity but might have to wait days or longer to get the results. With a rapid antigen test, you get a result right away, getting infectious people off the streets and into quarantine so they don’t spread the virus. — Joseph Petrosino, professor and chairman for molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine.

How does it work?

Here’s a quick explanation of how it works from the FDA:

To use your product, a nasal swab specimen is collected from the patient, 6 drops of extraction reagent from a dropper bottle are added to the top hole of the swab well. The patient sample is inserted into the test card through the bottom hole of the swab well, and firmly pushed upwards until the swab tip is visible through the top hole. The swab is rotated 3 times clockwise and the card is closed, bringing the extracted sample into contact with the test strip. Test results are interpreted visually at 15 minutes based on the presence or absence of visually detectable pink/purple colored lines.

There will be an app, too

Abbot, the health care company, has plans to release an app that will give people a “health pass” that can shown on their phone as well, making others aware of their recent testing results, The Verge reports.