• Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts
ABOUT
Advertise in GAT
Contact us
Thursday, March 23, 2023
Georgia Asian Times
International Insurance of Georgia
  • Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts
No Result
View All Result
Georgia Asian Times
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts
Home Coronavirus

U.S. plans for hundreds of millions of cheap, fast COVID-19 tests

Georgia Asian Times by Georgia Asian Times
September 17, 2020
in Coronavirus, Headline, Health
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Washington DC, Sept 17, 2020 – U.S. manufacturers are sharply increasing production of cheap, fast – but less accurate – COVID-19 tests, aiming for 100 million per month by year end that will enable schools and workplaces to significantly expand testing.

Manufacturing and government sources tell Reuters that more than half a dozen so-called antigen tests will likely be authorized by the end of October. U.S. regulators in recent months have authorized antigen tests from Abbott Laboratories, Becton Dickinson & Co, Quidel Corp and LumiraDX.

When planned production of the newly authorized tests are combined with previously approved diagnostics, overall monthly U.S. testing capacity will exceed 200 million per month by year end, these sources said.

Makers of the four recently-approved antigen tests have the capacity to make around 40 million per month, but expect to more than double that by year end, according to a Reuters analysis that includes proprietary figures shared by companies.

AD: High Museum of Atlanta

Unlike the $100 and up molecular diagnostics currently dominating U.S. testing that must be sent to a lab and often take several days for results, antigen tests can cost as little as $5. They can be performed anywhere and produce results in minutes.

That opens the possibility of regular screening at schools and businesses of even asymptomatic people, an important tool for containing future outbreaks, experts said.

“If we could get testing to a scale where everyone you want to test can be tested quickly and cheaply with a quick turnaround time (for results), then you could screen people” before they spread the virus, said Dwayne Breining, director of labs at Northwell Health, New York state’s largest hospital system.

Lab-based molecular tests are too hard to make and deploy at that level, he said.

Antigen tests detect certain proteins that are part of the virus from samples taken via nasal or throat swabs, similar to rapid tests for strep throat in a doctor’s office.

RELIABILITY CONCERNS

A lack of testing capacity and little federal coordination early in the pandemic hampered efforts to control spread of the virus that has infected more than 6 million people in the United States.

Still, regulators and health experts are concerned about antigen test reliability. They typically detect the virus around 80% to 90% of the time, below the more than 95% rate of lab-based tests. False negative results raise the likelihood that sick people could unwittingly spread COVID-19.

There is also not enough data to be certain the new tests can detect the virus when infected people are in the early, pre-symptomatic stage, potentially limiting their usefulness.

The U.S. conducted around 25 million tests in August, including lab and antigen tests, according to data from the University of Oxford. Antigen test makers and their suppliers are gearing up for a huge boost.

Tony Lemmo, chief executive of BioDot Inc, which makes dispensers of chemicals used in the tests, says he has recently received orders that would translate into some 500 million tests in the coming months.

The United States could have capacity to conduct 3 million coronavirus tests per day this month, about half of them antigen tests. That could climb to as high as 135 million monthly tests in October, a top health official told a U.S. congressional panel on Wednesday.

European diagnostics companies Roche Holding AG and Quiagen NV have said they will apply for U.S. authorization for their antigen tests.

The National Institutes of Health is working with companies on new tests that will likely add as many as another 30 million tests per month to overall capacity this year, a U.S. official told Reuters. The agency has also provided grants to help test makers boost manufacturing capacity, including $71 million to Quidel in July.

The U.S. official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, told Reuters that getting to 100 million tests a month by year end could potentially slip by a couple of months because of production challenges.

To ramp up, companies need to hire enough skilled workers and source the paper used in the tests, called nitrocellulose, the official said.

“There’s just so much required to go from zero to millions of tests,” said Quidel CEO Douglas Bryant, whose company is working with large U.S. universities on daily testing of student athletes.

College football teams in the Big Ten conference will use antigen testing after announcing on Wednesday they would go ahead with games beginning next month.

Nursing homes are using Becton Dickinson’s antigen tests to screen residents and staff through a government program.

Even if test makers succeed in scaling production, capacity will remain tight for some time, as schools, employers and others clamor for tests, executives and officials said.

Quidel has prioritized customer requests for its tests, Bryant said, with healthcare facilities and schools near the top, and industries like tourism further back in line. – Reuters

Previous Post

U.S. charges seven in wide-ranging Chinese hacking effort

Next Post

Trump to block U.S. downloads of TikTok, WeChat on Sunday

Georgia Asian Times

Georgia Asian Times

Related Posts

Health

What to know about new research on coffee and heart risks

March 22, 2023
Celebs tout ice baths, but science on benefits is lukewarm
Health

Celebs tout ice baths, but science on benefits is lukewarm

February 10, 2023
Health

DHS Receives Approval to Renew Simplified Process for Seniors Applying for SNAP

January 26, 2023
You’ll likely be happier if your home follows the ‘3-30-300 rule’
Health

You’ll likely be happier if your home follows the ‘3-30-300 rule’

December 22, 2022
Limited English Proficiency a Major Access Barrier to Healthcare for AAPIs, according to study
Health

Limited English Proficiency a Major Access Barrier to Healthcare for AAPIs, according to study

December 14, 2022
Hospitalizations signal rising COVID-19 risk for US seniors
Health

Hospitalizations signal rising COVID-19 risk for US seniors

December 11, 2022
Next Post

Trump to block U.S. downloads of TikTok, WeChat on Sunday

Signup Free E-Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Apr 7
8:00 am - 3:30 pm

Symposium on Asia-USA Partnership Opportunities (SAUPO) 2023

May 6
9:00 am - 4:00 pm

GAT AAPI Summit 2023

Jul 14
6:00 pm - 10:30 pm

GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia 2023

View Calendar
Logo

 

CONTACT US

Follow Us

MOST INFLUENTIAL

GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans Gala celebrates Asian voice

GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans Gala celebrates Asian voice

July 18, 2022

Video highlights of GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia

July 17, 2022

2022 GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia-Awards Gala

July 17, 2022

LINKS OF INTEREST

ATL Asian Film Festival

     

  • Contact Us
  • Advertise in GAT
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

© 2023 Georgia Asian Times - Empowered by 8SOL. Managed by Arckopolis.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Metro Asian News
  • Misc Asia
  • Lifestyle
  • Business
  • Art
  • Health
  • Eat Out
  • Events
  • Podcasts

© 2023 Georgia Asian Times - Empowered by 8SOL. Managed by Arckopolis.

Welcome Back!

Sign In with Google
OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Subscribe

Stop scrolling through endless social media feeds for news. Sign up for our website FREE Newsletter and get news that matters to you. We filter out fluff, so you don’t have to.

    Loading
    Loading
    Loading
    Loading
    Loading
    Register for FREE to read the rest of this article, or log in to your account.

      Or Login Here :

      Login

      Are you sure want to unlock this post?
      Unlock left : 0
      Are you sure want to cancel subscription?