Florida, California First To Receive New FDA Authorized At-Home COVID-19 Test
MIAMI (CBSMiami) — Florida is one of two states that will receive the first rapid coronavirus test that can be done entirely at home.
The FDA has approved emergency use of the Lucira COVID-19 All In One Test Kit.
The Lucira Health test, expected to cost around $50, promises results in up to 30 minutes.
It won't be available on a nationwide basis until spring of 2021, however it is being rolled out first at Cleveland Clinic in South Florida and Sutter Health in Northern California. Cleveland Clinic took part in a small clinical trial of the test.
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The test is only for people with symptoms and a doctor's prescription.
Previously the FDA had only allowed use of a handful of tests that allowed people to collect samples at home, which then had to be shipped to a lab.
The Lucira test allows users to swab themselves to collect a nasal sample. The sample is then swirled in a vial of laboratory solution that plugs into a portable device. Results are displayed as lights labeled positive or negative.
Lucira Health claims it can identify positive test results accurately 94.1% of the time and detects negative cases at 98%.
Experts hope it will have a major impact on U.S. testing capability and help reduce long lines and testing backlogs taking place across the country.
Rapid test results are critical to quickly quarantining those who are infected and tracing their contacts.
The FDA said Lucira's test was also authorized for use in doctor's offices and testing sites.
