The Food and Drug Administration announced on November 17 that it gave emergency use authorization (EUA) for the first at‐home diagnostic test for COVID-19. The Lucira COVID-19 All‐in‐One test kit is designed to be self‐administered. People can collect their own sample using a nasal swab, swirl the swab in a vial, and get the test result in 30 minutes.
The FDA requires people to get a prescription from a health care practitioner in order to buy and use the test. Children under 14 are required to have the test performed by a health care practitioner. Patients who present to doctors’ offices, urgent care centers, clinics, or hospitals may still self‐administer the test once it is prescribed, but if the patient is 14 or under the practitioner must perform the test.
This is a welcome development. The ability to perform the test at home and get quick results should provide great assistance in identifying and isolating infected and contagious people, and help bring the spread of the virus under better control. But, why should this require a prescription?
Read more at https://www.cato.org/blog/prescription-not-required-home-pregnancy-test-or-home-hiv-test-why-require-one-home-covid-test
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