FDA Authorizes 1st Home Coronavirus Test That Doesn't Require A Prescription

[wraggster]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized the first coronavirus test that people will be able to buy at a local store without a prescription and use for immediate results at home (https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/15/946692950/fda-authorizes-first-home-coronavirus-test-that-doesnt-require-a-prescription) to find out if they're positive or negative. From a report:The test will cost about $30 and be available by January, according to the Australian company that makes it, Ellume. The FDA had previously authorized other tests that let people avoid long lines by collecting a sample themselves at home. But those tests require people to send the sample to a lab and wait for the results. Another recently authorized test doesn't have to be sent off to a lab, but it requires a prescription to get it.
The new test is the first that people will be able to buy without a prescription at a local store and do entirely at home on their own. It takes about five minutes to collect the sample and produces results within 15 minutes. "Today's authorization is a major milestone in diagnostic testing for COVID-19," FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in a statement announcing the authorization.

FDA Authorizes 1st Home Coronavirus Test That Doesn't Require A Prescription (slashdot.org) (https://news.slashdot.org/story/20/12/15/191216/fda-authorizes-1st-home-coronavirus-test-that-doesnt-require-a-prescription)