Abbott's fast, $5, 15-minute, easy-to-use covid-19 antigen test receives fda emergency use authorization; mobile app displays test results to help our

[Mary Wilson]

- Abbott's BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Card is a rapid, reliable, highly portable, and affordable tool for detecting active coronavirus infections at massive scale
- Test delivers results in just 15 minutes with no instrumentation, using proven lateral flow technology with demonstrated sensitivity of 97.1% and specificity of 98.5% in clinical study
- Abbott to offer a no-charge complementary phone app, which allows people to display their BinaxNOW test results when asked by organizations where people gather, such as workplaces and schools
- Company will ship tens of millions of tests in September, ramping to 50 million tests a month at the beginning of October

ABBOTT PARK, Ill., Aug. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for its BinaxNOW™ COVID-19 Ag Card rapid test for detection of COVID-19 infection. Abbott will sell this test for $5. It is highly portable (about the size of a credit card), affordable and provides results in 15 minutes. BinaxNOW uses proven Abbott lateral flow technology, making it a reliable and familiar format for frequent mass testing through their healthcare provider. With no equipment required, the device will be an important tool to manage risk by quickly identifying infectious people so they don't spread the disease to others.

Abbott will also launch a complementary mobile app for iPhone and Android devices named NAVICA™. This first-of-its-kind app, available at no charge, will allow people who test negative to display a temporary digital health pass that is renewed each time a person is tested through their healthcare provider together with the date of the test result. Organizations will be able to view and verify the information on a mobile device to facilitate entry into facilities along with hand-washing, social distancing, enhanced cleaning and mask-wearing.

... Under FDA EUA, the BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card is for use by healthcare professionals and can be used in point-of-care settings that are qualified to have the test performed and are operating under a CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) Certificate of Waiver, Certificate of Compliance, or Certificate of Accreditation. Within these settings, the test can be performed by doctors, nurses, school nurses, medical assistants and technicians, pharmacists, employer occupational health specialists, and more with minimal training and a patient prescription.

https://abbott.mediaroom.com/2020-0...amping-Production-to-50-Million-Tests-a-Month

 

[sharon sanders]

Is this Big Brother with the phone app?

 

[JJackson]

This is getting closer to what is needed - the remaining problem is that it is being distributed via the health care system and is not certified for self use.
Re. The App. If the app is not self administered then the administrators of the test have the results and the individual does not require an app. If you have a cell phone you are already providing lots of data, if you have a smart phone then you are providing much more data and there is no reason this app needs to collect anything apart from the test result, which does not necessarily mean it is not collecting other data but the individual would have to assess that for themselves. I do not use a smart phone, my old Nokia had the internet access disabled when I got it 10 years ago.