NATIONWIDE – On Tuesday, the FDA announced it has authorized the first test of at-home sample collection for COVID-19.
- One company has been authorized to do at-home sample collection
- Kits are only available to health care workers and first responders
- Eventually will be available for purchase by general public
The authorization was granted to the Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp), a medical testing company. LabCorp was granted emergency authorization in March that allowed it to test for the novel coronavirus.
LabCorp is currently only giving the at-home tests health care workers and first responders due to a limited availability of the tests, but the FDA says the kits should be available to the general public in the coming weeks.
The kits will eventually be available for purchase by approved patients online and will be sent via FedEx to consumers. From there, consumers will use a cotton swab provided in the kit to collect a sample from their nasal cavity and then mail the sample back to LabCorp. There the samples will be tested and the results will be available online.
The at-home tests aren’t cheap, though— they cost $119 per kit but that does include the cost of shipping.
FDA officials note that LabCorp is the only company that has so far been authorized to use at-home test kits: “It is important to note that this is not a general authorization for at-home collection of patient samples using other collection swabs, media, or tests, or for tests fully conducted at home.”
If you come across an advertisement for at-home testing not by LabCorp it is likely a scam. Click here to learn how to protect yourself against scams and false claims for “coronavirus cures.”
