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The dearth of testing put the US at a major disadvantage equally the coronavirus pandemic began snowballing earlier this year. Fifty-fifty now, it can be tough to get a test unless you're showing astringent symptoms of COVID-19 infection. Testing might be easier to access soon, provided you're willing to drop some greenbacks on an at-dwelling house test. LabCorp has announced its new "Pixel" test kit has received the first Emergency Utilise Authority (EUA) from the FDA to test for COVID-nineteen at home.

Several biotech firms accept announced plans to develop at-home testing kits for the novel coronavirus, only the FDA has expressly forbidden making these kits available until it can complete the necessary analysis. LabCorp is the outset to get provisional approval, and that'southward probably because it'south non a total testing kit in your home.

Like the company's other Pixel-branded products, the COVID-19 test is actually an calm sample collection kit. Users collect a sample via a nasal swab, seal it in a special container, and ship it with the included package to a LabCorp facility. The test conducted on the sample is the same one being washed in labs around the world. It relies on RT-PCR (Opposite transcription-polymerase chain reaction) to plow RNA into DNA and search for sequences matching SARS-CoV-2, which is an RNA-based virus.

A positive result from this test indicates that the user has an active coronavirus infection. The FDA considers these results to be valid, but other at-home tests without an EUA are non. The agency is working with other companies on certification, some of which want to offer at-home serological testing. These blood tests wait for antibodies in the blood that can indicate whether a person currently has or has previously had COVID-19.

Novel_Coronavirus_SARS-CoV-2

LabCorp already offers at-abode collection kits for various tests like cholesterol, diabetes, and colorectal cancer. The most expensive of them is $99, merely the COVID-19 kit will cost $119. LabCorp currently has limited numbers of kits bachelor, then it'due south prioritizing healthcare workers and first-responders. You have to run through a quick survey on the company'southward site earlier you tin can buy the kit. LabCorp plans to make the kits available more widely presently.

With reliable testing, public health officials tin use contact tracing to identify those near at risk of infection. At that signal, we may be able to slowly return to some semblance of normality.

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