FDA Authorizes Several Over-the-Counter COVID-19 Tests
Several over-the-counter Covid-19 tests were authorized Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration for use without a prescription, offering a way for schools, workplaces, and other groups to conduct rapid screening.
The so-called antigen tests offer faster results with less lab work and can be used to quickly and frequently test people to catch, in particular, those who are asymptomatic and at risk of unknowingly spreading the virus.
Rapid antigen tests will be especially useful for serial testing, which involves “testing the same individual multiple times within a few days, and can increase chances of detecting asymptomatic infection that might not always show up with a single test,” according to the FDA.
The newly authorized diagnostic tests, which require users to collect a sample with a nasal swab, could help schools, workplaces, communities, and other groups set up programs for serial testing, the FDA said.
