Coronavirus Updates: Covid 19 Testing At Home Gets Approval

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In a major breakthrough, the first home covid test gets approval from the FDA. The best part about this home testing kit is that you do not need a prescription, and it is very inexpensive. There is no need to send samples to the lab, and the rapid antigen test can be used on people above the age of 2 even when they do not have any symptoms.

It is very simple to use the test kit, and users need to swab the inside of the nose and apply a solution to the sample before placing it in a cartridge. The results will be available within 15 minutes on a cell phone app.

Covid 19 Testing At Home Gets Approval

This Rapid antigen test is developed by Australian manufacturer Ellume, and it costs $30. The company sources said that the home test would be available from January, and users can access it even without a prescription. Health experts consider this as a major breakthrough for Americans as they can safely get tested at home without any hassles.

 Covid 19 Testing At Home Gets Approval

According to a new study, 1 in 6 people who share a room with the covid-19 patient will catch the disease. This is significantly higher than other respiratory diseases like MERS and SARS. As public healthcare officials encourage people to stay at home during the pandemic so that they can reduce the rate of transmission, more people are likely to stay home for long hours.

According to the study, the rate of secondary transmission in households is more than 16 %, and it can go as high as 18 % if the infected person has symptoms. Adults were more likely to catch the infection when compared to children.

Doctor Fauci has said that Donald Trump, Pence, Biden, and Harris should be getting vaccinated at the earliest. Even though Donald Trump may have some immunity as he was recently infected with coronavirus in October, it is still better to take a vaccine to get added protection. At this stage, it is still not clear as to how long the immunity would last in the body.

Doctors say that most people are asking them if they should get the vaccine when they have natural immunity. Health experts say that the natural immunity that is developed in the body after getting infected with coronavirus may last for many months or years. However, further study is needed in this regard, and there is no clarity as to how long the natural immunity would stay in the body. For this reason, it is a good idea to still get the vaccine as soon as it is available. The doctors also said that considering the shortage of vaccine supply in the initial days, it is a better idea to avoid getting vaccinated if you already have natural immunity.

According to the data released by the FDA, another covid-19 vaccine released by Moderna was also found to be safe and effective. In this regard, the FDA will review the clinical trials data shortly and provide authorization in the coming weeks. This is a good development as health care is suffering from a shortage of supplies, and having more than one vaccine will help them in the mass vaccination programs.

As of now, the clinical trials done with both vaccines do not have enough data to suggest that it is safe for children. But the vaccines can be effectively used for people above the age of 16. The companies have promised that further clinical trials will be done that includes people from different age groups and ethnicities in the future. In this way, they will have better data about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine for the vast majority of people.

According to the report released by the CDC, nursing homes will begin immunization programs next week. Most of the nursing homes will be getting the vaccines through the pharmacy chains, and they need to get authorization from staff members and other patients before providing the vaccines. The CDC has said that there is no need for a written authorization in an emergency situation, and the nursing homes can go with oral authorization from the candidates.