"CHICAGO – A five-minute, point-of-care coronavirus test could be coming to hospitals next week, and experts say it could be "game-changing."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued Emergency Use Authorization to Illinois-based medical device maker Abbott Labs on Friday for a coronavirus test that delivers positive results in as little as five minutes and negative results in 13 minutes, the company said.
The company expects the tests to be available next week and expects to ramp up manufacturing to deliver 50,000 tests per day, according to a press release.
"I am pleased that the FDA authorized Abbott's point of care test yesterday. This is big news and will help get more of these tests out in the field rapidly," said FDA Commissioner Steve Hahn in a statement. "We know how important it is to get point of care tests out in the field quickly. These tests that can give results quickly can be a game changer in diagnosing COVID-19."
According to Abbott, the test will run on the company's ID NOW platform, a 6.6-pound portable device the size of a small toaster. The ID NOW is the most widely available molecular point-of-care testing platform in the U.S. today, according to Abbott.
Last week, the FDA approved another coronavirus test from Abbott, the m2000 RealTime SARS CoV-2 EUA test. Between the two platforms, Abbott expects to produce about 5 million tests per month."
This is great. I suppose it's a rush job and efficacy will be evaluated on the fly. I just ordered three UV-C lamps from a Chinese company. Have no idea when I'll get them, if ever.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you are right about it being a rush job. But it's not like we have a lot of options right now.
DeleteWe have been storming heaven for help, and I do believe that God most often sends help for illness through scientists and doctors.
It would be great if they also could test for previous infection and immunity. Then people could be released into circulation. I had an infection at NewYear's which bore similarities. The same for my friend's nurse daughter. It would be great if she were bulletproof.
DeleteI think they can test for antibodies to the virus, at least I read about them doing it with monkeys. How fast or easy it is I don't know. But if you had it at New Years, that means it's been here longer than we think. I had something last June with all the symptoms that sidelined me for about 3 weeks, but it probably wasn't around that long ago.
DeleteWhat makes me doubt I had it was that no other family members got it. There was a lot of hugging at my mother's funeral. On the other hand, it was two weeks after I had my fever. I had one mild episode of respiratory discomfort but I have a very large lung capacity. So who knows?
DeleteStanley, the first case around here was an older person who had been on the infamous Nile river cruise. Diagnosed two days after going to a local senior living facility to sit shiva with about 100 others there to comfort the family. No other cases resulted from that gathering of mostly older people. One of the first cases in New Orleans is a healthy 45 year old who lived with a wife and son. Misdiagnosed initially he was finally hospitalized and tested - just off the ventilator after more than three weeks. His wife and son are fine. Seems unpredictable.
ReplyDeleteAnne, I think a lot is going to be learned eventually, if they build a few less F-35 fighters and fund some virology.
DeleteOh, Stanley, they also gave Boeing an $8 billion contract to make upgraded F-15s which have been around since the '70s. (Of course, we all have to be nice to Boeing, but...) the brand new F-15s will get us through a few more years with the fighter that packs more armament than a WWII B-17. But we are not cancelling the F-35s.
DeleteTom, I don't believe the topic of reducing defense spending came up during the Democratic candidate debates. Is it that much of a sacred cow? Is one weak on defense if one only wants to spend as much on it as the next three countries combined instead of the next seven?
DeleteAnother technology but not yet. UV-C lamps at 250 nanometers. The wavelength is short enough to slaughter pathogens but too long to make hazardous ozone.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.kron4.com/health/coronavirus/researchers-racing-to-prevent-the-next-pandemic-with-ultraviolet-light/
Interesting, Stanley. I know they are using an ultraviolet sterilization technique at Nebraska U Med Center to re-use the M-95 masks (for use by the same person). I have suspected that maybe ultraviolet light may be responsible for flu being abated in the summer, because people are out in the sunlight more.
DeleteAn ultraviolet lamp is a feature of our heat pump system, that shines on the air going through the filter. The dealer's claim was that it kills mold and bacteria. I suspected at the time that it was because the dealer wanted to sell an expensive bulb every year. But also I think there is something to it.
It would be great if it could eliminate some of the germ spread in places like airports. Even though your link says the wavelength is safe for eyes, I think I would wear sunglasses if I were in an area where the lamps were being used.
Hope you get the lamps you ordered without too much delay.
We are hearing some nonsense out of people who ought to know better (I'm looking at you, Robert Reno) in venues which need to exercise more editorial discretion (such as First Things). Basically they are saying we should just trust God and let 'er rip, because we're going to die someday anyway. They need to listen to someone who had the virus, such as this person:
ReplyDelete"For me it started in the throat and swollen glands. Then comes the headache from hell, the fever, body aches, chills, and extreme fatigue. I had one bout of diarrhea too, but that didn’t last long. Then it seems like you are improving. The former dry cough becomes much more serious. You have shortness of breath. You cough until your lungs hurt and throat is raw. It is a barking cough.
The virus seems to trigger a systemic response first but then settles into the lungs. It paralyzes the cilia, which are responsible for sweeping up debris in the lungs. The cough is unproductive. I am so tired of coughing.
My wife’s experience was similar to mine in many ways. Two of my children were just tired for a day and got over it fine. My 5 year old son lost his appetite, slept for a few days, and his eardrum exploded due to pressure. His neck glands were swollen. That was frightening.
The one day I was really worried about my wife because her fever kept rising. She hit 102 F and I gave her ibuprofen and Tylenol. She experienced the chills too and was so tired she could barely move. She has Type 1 diabetes, which increases her risk of serious complications. My wife now has the unrelenting dry cough. She still has swollen glands but they are subsiding a bit. Her fever is gone and energy levels have improved, although she still sleeps longer and isn’t back to full strength. She feels tired but isn’t wiped out like she was 6 days ago."
We seriously do not want anyone, including ourselves, to experience this sh*t.
Right, Katherine. Personally, I'm more afraid of permanent disability like lung scarring. One of my fellow guy dancers just heard that a woman doctor friend of his in NYC is dying from it. Says she always put others first.
DeleteSome of our co-religionists like Reno are acting and talking more like the Evangelical fringe than like Roman Catholics. Some of the noisier IOK-UOK chuches said they would continue to gather, social distance be damned, and rely on the Lord to protect them. Next thing you know Preacher Reno will be handling them snakes.
DeleteNow he texted she died from cardiac arrest last night. I am worried about the nurses I know.
DeleteThese goofy preachers are going to convert more to atheism than ole Dawkins ever could.
DeleteI'm sorry to hear about the doctor, Stanley. May perpetual ight shine upon her.
DeleteMy friend MaryAnn's daughter is in a COVID unit. Another friend of hers is a rock hound and has UV lights of which he'll give her a shorter wavelength one along with UV blocking goggles. I'm taking a cardboard box and lining it with aluminum foil. It can be placed over the lamp with items to be sterilized providing both eye and skin protection and increasing the intensity. I feel like I'm doing something.
DeleteOh, no, not MaryAnn the backseat driver!? Is her daughter a nurse or patient? Is she doing OK?
DeleteYes, it's her. Her daughter is a nurse in a COVID unit. MaryAnn has been giving her daughter cooking support as she is exhausted physically and emotionally. Dropping food on the doorstep. The daughter was sick a few weeks ago with some breathing problems. I hope she had it and is now bulletproof but who knows? I will pick up the UV lamp from her garage and build a mount and enclosure to make it more usable. Must do something to help.
DeleteI will pray that your contraption works and add them to my prayers.
Delete