During a press conference on Monday, President Donald Trump announced his administration is sending 150 million rapid point-of-care tests to all 50 states for free..
The rapid tests, though intended for use by healthcare professionals, can be used at designated centers such as schools and churches, per Food and Drug Administration emergency authorization provisions. Coronavirus Task Force member and Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brett Giroir noted that the administration’s allocation of hundreds of millions of dollars for development and regulatory flexibility has led to an “inflection point” easy-to-use tests. This allows for wide distribution and assesses people infected with the coronavirus rapidly.
Giroir took a few moments to demonstrate the use of the Abbott BinaxNOW rapid tests.
So literally, it almost could not be easier. It starts with 6 drops of liquid onto this piece of paper. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. And then there’s a nasal swab, and again, this is– this is not the deep-brain biopsy that we talk about. This will generally done by a healthcare provider, but it can be done supervised.It’s this easy– 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Into the test. Twist it three times. The adhesive is pulled off, and you wait 15 minutes. And that is the test. It really could not be easier then this. This is a very sophisticated little piece of cardboard with lots of antibodies and incredible technology into that.
The Trump administration plans to allow states to make their own determinations on how best to use the tests. The White House says 6.5 million tests will be sent to all 50 states this week, with another 10 million sent every week until the 150 million tests run out.
The Abbot BinaxNOW tests have the potential to be a game-changer, allowing for the swift identification of possibly infected people w before the go into high-occupancy situations that could lead to the “super spreading” of the virus.
The test provides results in 15 minutes, is priced at $5 and can be overseen by a wide range of people.Despite being a quick solution, it is highly accurate, with 97.1% sensitivity and 98.5% specificity rates.
Because the Harris-Biden ticket is scaring Americans away from the emergency-authorized vaccines that are poised for approval shortly, these rapid, accurate, and inexpensive test kits may prove to be critical in ending the pandemic soon.
In other Coronavirus Task Force member news, during a contentious exchange with Kentucky’s Sen. Rand Paul at a Senate hearing last week, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases head Dr. Anthony Fauci distanced himself from his earlier support of an encouraging COVID-19 immunity theory.
At the hearing Wednesday, Fauci at one point got into an argument with Paul, who argued in part that New York City had developed a degree of herd immunity sufficient to prevent another explosion of COVID-19 cases there.”In New York, it’s about [a] 22% [infection rate],” Fauci replied to Paul. “If you believe 22% is herd immunity, I believe you’re alone in that.””There’s also the preexisting immunity of those who have cross-reactivity,” Paul countered, “which is about a third of the public in many estimates … which would actually get you to about two-thirds.””I’d like to talk to you about that also,” Fauci parried, “because there was a study that recently came out that preexisting immunity to coronaviruses that are common cold do not cross-react with the COVID-19.”Fauci and Paul were referring to a burgeoning theory of widespread preexisting COVID-19 immunity. The theory holds that significant numbers of the population are more or less immune or largely resistant to SARS-Cov-2 due to the presence of certain “T cells,” a critical component of a body’s immune response.
In conclusion, I think I now know who my favorite Coronavirus Task Force member is:
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