Many U.S. At-Home COVID-19 Test Results Could Be Going Unreported

Popular at-home COVID-19 tests from Abbott Laboratories and Quidel Corp., available without a prescription, were launched without a mechanism for reporting results to health officials, potentially leaving many cases uncounted by authorities as the delta variant spreads around the U.S. How many of the products have been sold in pharmacies and online and used isn’t clear. When Abbott’s BinaxNOW Self Test became available through retail stores in late April, the company said it planned to make at least tens of millions each month. The company last month said a group of COVID tests including BinaxNOW brought in $1 billion in global sales. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] While COVID testing sites and labs are required to report their findings, the Food and Drug Administration relaxed requirements for some at-home tests to speed their path to market. Abbott said customers are encouraged to report results of its tests, while Quidel didn’t respond to a request for comment. COVID cases are still one of the best indicators of the direction of the pandemic, and health officials are watching them as closely as ever for signs that the latest surge may be near a peak, at least in some parts of the U.S. Although new, accessible testing technologies have been helpful, data gaps can be dangerous, said Michael Mina, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health who studies diagnostics. “We should be doing a better job of keeping track,&...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 healthscienceclimate Source Type: news