More Good NewsThe most recent approval (see link below) by the FDA doesn’t seem to be getting a lot of media coverage today, perhaps overshadowed by Pfizer’s most recent announcement (completed study results on its vaccine’s efficacy now 95 percent.)
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-first-covid-19-test-self-testing-home Today’s announcement about a Covid-19 home test is not quite what I was referring to in my most recent post, but it is still one more game-changer in returning our lives to some sense of normalcy (See
Pachuko’s post yesterday).
This home test will still require a prescription and from what I understand is on the pricey side. However, expect similar less expensive products to come onto the market in the next month or two.
I also see this approval as one step away from the consumer product type of home test (like pregnancy tests available at drug stores). These tests are relatively inexpensive and do not require a prescription.
Dr. Michael Mina, a Harvard professor and epidemiologist has been advocating for months the use of inexpensive home tests as a way of tackling the disease until a vaccine is developed and widely available. The following two links provides background on his thinking:
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/08/cheap-daily-covid-tests-could-be-akin-to-vaccine/ Did Mina’s article in Time Magazine yesterday prompt this latest FDA approval?
https://time.com/5912705/covid-19-stop-spread-christmas/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_term=ideas_covid-19&linkId=104733190