Coronavirus Home Testing Kit: How is it Helpful?

Covid-19 has shown similar symptoms with other diseases. Because of this, undergoing a test is the only way an individual can find out whether they’ve been infected or not. Now that Covid-19 has spread exponentially among the people, mass testing is crucial to stop the virus from spreading further.

Because of how mass testing has been struggling recently, a lot of private companies are rushing to create a new way for people to test themselves inside the comfort of their homes. As of now, there is no FDA approved home testing kit. However, the FDA approved the collection kit developed by LabCorp.

How Do Test Kits Work?

The process of Coronavirus test kits is straightforward. You will only have to sign up online and undergo a screening regarding the diagnostic guidelines the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has created. If you manage to pass, you will be qualified to acquire a test kit, which will cost from $135 to $190. It will be shipped to your home, ready for use.

To use it, you will have to take a swab sample from your nose, put the specimen in a vial, and bring the results to a lab. The specimen will be processed within a day or two, and the result will be delivered to you digitally. If you are positive for Covid-19, some companies will offer a telehealth session, which will guide you on what to do next.

Covid-19 symptoms can range from mild to severe, and if you fall under the latter, a trip to the emergency room is imperative. However, for milder symptoms, some experts recommend using home test kits instead.

The people behind the creation of the home test kits aim to improve the accessibility of testing kits for those who don’t have access to it. A professor of lab med at Yale and associate director of the Clinical Microbiology Lab in the same university, Sheldon Campbell, said that the home test kits are particularly helpful for those who live in rural areas.

Most coronavirus test kits made in the U.S require you to take a swab sample from your throat or the back of the nasal cavity. With these specimens, the lab that will test your swabs can determine if it has the virus’s RNA. However, these tests can only be conducted through public health labs that can perform mass testing.

One way to determine whether you are infected or not is by looking at your saliva. A test designed by a team of experts from Rutgers University, who recently got an emergency approval from the FDA, has created this kind of analysis as another way of identifying infection. However, this test has no at-home version as of yet.

Another way of combating the spread of the virus is through a serological test, which looks for proteins or antibodies in your system to determine if you have previously contracted the virus.

With the struggle of not being able to test every individual despite the different ways to determine the infected, some companies are working hard and fast to push in-home versions of these tests. While this can work in theory, experts say that the sample coming from the people themselves might be tainted or incorrectly bottled, which can be a problem during the testing.

The FDA’s Stance about At-Home Test Kits

Back in March, when the pandemic was just starting to creep worldwide, Scanwell, Nurx, and EverlyWell announced that they would be distributing home test kits available for consumer purchase. At the time of the announcement, these companies believed that they are still operating within the FDA’s Emergency Use Operation Guidelines.

However, on March 20th, the FDA issued a warning as opposed to the companies making home test kits and delivering them into people’s homes. FDA claims that these tests can be fraudulent as they have not been given authorization.

The FDA also announced that they are working with several companies to make home test kits. Still, as of recently, no home test kits are readily available, and all the supposedly home test kits that you see online are unauthorized.

On April 13th, the FDA announced and authorized a test by collecting a sample of saliva. The test, as mentioned above, is developed by experts from Rutgers University. This test, along with swab tests made by professionals, can be a great help in securing the safety of test personnel and reducing the demand for safety gear, which are already hard to come by.

Takeaway

When executed and appropriately distributed, home test kits will be a great help in halting the spread of the disease and reducing the dangers of unauthorized testing. Although a lot of home test kits are surfacing online, it is still essential to take note that, as of current, the FDA has not authorized any home test kits available for consumers.