FDA Authorizes First At-Home Test for Coronavirus

Yes…! You’ve heard right.

The FDA has approved LabCorp, a North Carolina-based health services company, to produce the nation’s first at-home test kit for the coronavirus.

In the statement, LabCorp said initial distribution of coronavirus test kits will start with responders and frontline healthcare workers, but the kits will be available for consumers in the coming weeks, with their doctor’s prescription. The test kits will be available through LabrCorp’s Pixel platform at the cost of $119.

The LabCorp home self-collection kit includes a specific Q-tip-style cotton swab to collect specimen from the nose. Due to concerns with sterility, other cotton swabs should not be used with this test at present. The FDA is continuously working with test developers to determine the safety and effectiveness of Q-tip-style cotton swabs to perform other tests as well.

According to the FDA, you’ll get approval to use the corona test kit at home only “when there are no adequate, approved, and available alternatives.”

As per the Pixel’s guidelines, you have to fill a questionnaire to buy the kit. Once, you fill the questionnaire, the kit will be delivered to your home via FedEx. You need to rub the inside of your nose with a swab and mail the swab in an insulated package to LabCorp for testing. However, you need to ensure to collect the sample as instructed on the test kit. The test will confirm whether you’re infected with COVID-19 or not, and the test results will be accessible online.

However, there is a chance that a test will come negative if the sample is not collected as directed or in the early stages of infection. Once you get your results, you can consult with a licensed physician who can answer any questions you may have about your test results and help determine the next steps in care.

The FDA is working with LabCorp to ensure the data demonstrated from at-home patient sample collection is as safe and accurate as sample collection at a doctor’s office, hospital, or other testing sites. LabCorp in a statement noted the home-collection kits will reduce the chance of virus spread to lab technicians who would normally perform the nasal swab.

The LabCorp news release said that “LabCorp’s COVID-19 test home collection kit has been authorized by FDA under the EUA, and has been authorized only for the detection of nucleic acid from SARS-CoV-2, not for any other viruses or pathogens.”

As the infection rate has reached grim milestone in the US, we recommend everyone to follow basic preventative measures recommended by the CDC and get tested at home by using a COVID-19 test home collection kit.

For more updates on COVID-19, stay tuned to the Wise Rx prescription discount card blog!