Abbott-COVID-19-test-kit

Abbott Laboratories has launched a new testing kit for COVID-19 that releases results in as fast as 5 minutes. 

Starting April 1, the pharmaceutical company plans to produce 50,0000  tests per day according to Vice President of R&D, John Frels. The process starts by detecting for fragments of the coronavirus chromosome, which when in high volume can be easily identified. To prove that no virus has actually occurred, a series of thorough investigations must be done before eliminating the possibility of infection.  

US Food and Drug Administration granted Abbott an “emergency use authorization” on Friday, citing that the authorization is exclusive only to laboratories specified and strictly for use in patient care setting. 

The U.S. has been lagging with health emergency responses due to the inability of its government to foresee the crucial impacts of the now rapidly growing pandemic.  

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Abbott is said to build the test kits in its widely distributed line of ID Now platform units which are spread across the U.S.  

Similar to how the common test kits work, this test also starts with taking a swab from the mouth or throat. It will then be mixed with a chemical that can break the virus open to release the RNA. The mixture will be injected into the ID Now system that will magnify the flow of the virus chromosome and serve as antivirus protection.  

With its portable and small size, the equipment can be set up in any healthcare setting. For now, the company is targeting to bring the test kits to high priority locations such as hospital emergency sites, urgent care clinics and doctor’s offices. 

As of today, the U.S. has reported 123,780 cases with 2,229 deaths and 3,328 recoveries.  

Source: Business Insider

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