The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first single-use at-home COVID test, which can give results in 30 minutes without visiting a doctor’s office or clinic, the Washington Post reports.
With the “All-In-One” single-use test kit by Lucira Health, Inc., the user self-administers a nasal swab to collect a sample, from which it checks for the virus’s genetic material. The FDA gave the test an “emergency use” authorization, which means it could be on the market in weeks.
Lucira Health was developing an at-home influenza test when the pandemic hit, so it redirected the research effort to come up with a coronavirus test instead. While the test may be too expensive for average households, it provides a simple, fast test that may be used in schools, workplaces, nursing homes and other essential businesses.