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The Covid-19 test method was not ready for omicron

The amount of material involved based on the diversity of highly infectious omicrons has expanded America’s ability to test Covid-19 to its limits. Running antigen tests are out of stock in most drug stores, lines for PCR tests around the log in cities across the United States. The problem could only get worse as more people go on vacation and add new epidemics, shortly before the new exam from the government arrives.

Covid-19 is spreading so fast that the US may need to test between 3 million and 5 million daily by early February, which is much higher than this world is running, According to depending on the contents from the Health and Human Services Department. And the experimental stuff is getting smaller, some for you officials urge Biden officials to pray Defense Production Act, a Korean military law code that allows the president to direct business companies to do certain things in the event of an accident. To counteract the decline, White House he said early Tuesday to send over 500 million free tests to US homes, starting in the next few weeks.

The bulk of the test material may appear sudden, but it has been months since it was made. Small federal investments, lazy approvals, and limited productivity by staff have all hampered the testing process. The problem is compounded when people rush to buy Covid-19 tests quickly before heading to Christmas and New Year, demanding more tests than the system currently has. The test is expensive, and the price starts more than $ 10.

“These things together caused the storm to happen,” Lindsey Dawson, the lead coordinator of the HIV program at the Kaiser Family Foundation, told Recode. “The test looks a lot harder than it was three or four days ago.”

The trial is over

The gold standard in the Covid-19 test and PCR testing, which involves a medical professional to cover your nose for samples that are sent to the lab for testing by cells. It takes a day for the lab to report the results of the patients. These tests are very important right now, and the waiting times for testing can be longer than a few hours. In addition, many labs currently have multiple models, which have delayed results for several days and made them useless.

Continued delays in the results of PCR results are one of the main reasons for rapid home screening, e.g. BinaxNOW, QuickVue, and Ellume, was to be the standard by which most people measure. You can buy the test over the counter at the pharmacy or order it online. Test equipment includes foam, medical device, and card or cassette. To test, you rinse the inside of your nose to take a sample, combine the sample with a reagent, and then place a swab in a card or cassette, which detects the presence of a protein called antigen. It only takes 15 minutes to get results. Although the test is not as accurate as the PCR test, which looks for the virus signature, it is. a permissive approach when a PCR test is not available.

There are also a number of companies offering home testing kits, which are as accurate as PCR tests, but they are cheaper. A company called Detect sells start-up equipment with a single test and operating environment, because about $ 75, and the additional test is $ 49 each. Cue Health home tests are very expensive. Cue Reader reusable only price $ 249, and the three-test package is $ 225. There are also home-based PCR tests that use saliva, but they often require patients to send their samples to the lab for repair, and it costs about $ 100.

There are a number of reasons why the testing of these anti-inflammatory drugs is suddenly lacking. Workplaces and schools bought the most readily available tests earlier this year to speed up their reopening work. Vendors, meanwhile, are storage supporting the spread of omicron. And more and more people are looking for a quick test before they go on winter vacation, which also reduces some things.

But the source of the decline is the resumption of the epidemic, with the White House prioritizing vaccination trials. Trump officials have invested heavily in developing a new vaccine through Operation Warp Speed, and the Biden pandemic is focused on distributing the vaccine worldwide.

At the same time, the Food and Drug Administration has been delayed monitoring and approval of emergency trials. These tests initially they were classified as medical devices, meaning that they had to meet certain requirements. Two years after the outbreak, only 14 self-made antigen tests were approved for emergency use, according to and Arizona State University database.

Of those tests, the Abbott Laboratories BinaxNow antigen test accounts for about 75 percent of sales in the US. The control of the Abbott test has attracted attention another criticism after ProPublica reports that the director of the FDA’s diagnostic testing office, Tim Stenzel, has worked in Abbott, as well as with Quidel, another company that tested Covid-19. Abbott and Quidel were indeed the first two companies that the FDA approved to produce an overdose, but last month, the agency said it would prioritize approving the fastest tests to help with the resumption of the process and prepare the country for the upcoming holidays.

Testing also lost as much power as vaccine reduced the incidence of the disease in summer. The site began looking for evidence of vaccination to enter, and the CDC announced that vaccines were not needed. tested regularly. Recognizing that Covid-19 testing is no longer a hot topic, reputable test manufacturers are planning to reduce their production. These companies are now rushing to get back into gear.

“I can tell you that we are seeing an unprecedented need for BinaxNOW and we are sending them as soon as possible,” John Koval, Abbott’s chief medical officer, told Recode. “Despite the trend in public health during the summer that led to the decline in the testing market, we have not stopped experimenting.”

Rapidly raising production rates is not easy, however. Ellume, an Australian company that rapidly develops Covid-19 tests, he said in September the demand was already 1,000 times higher than previously predicted. Test makers are not protected from global problems, pa. Deficiency of foam machine, foam, electronics, and special sheets of test cards have all reduced test performance.

Unemployment has also been severe. Orasure, which creates a fast test called InteliSwab, has not been able to hire enough people at his Pennsylvania factory to meet demand. And BD, who sells a home test called Veritor, warned in his own words annual notice for depositors in November that continuous development, including transportation and supply chain problems, could undermine its entire business.

Repairs are coming – slowly

This fall, Biden’s management set up a robust testing system. The White House passed plus $ 3 billion encouraging the development of rapid tests. Biden leadership as well managed insurance companies to pay for the test cost as soon as possible, although the guide may not arrive until January 15 and it does not work over and over again. This policy also does not cover people without private insurance. The Department of Health and Human Services said in October it would destroy $ 70 million to help bring more tests to the US market, and to look for tests that can be performed on a scale.

US government procedures are very different from foreign policy. In the United Kingdom, for example, the Covid-19 test is free distribution, and government letters to people’s homes if they cannot try at school or work. Germany made the Covid-19 test free between March and October.

However, the White House he says that the country “wants to quadruple the speed test we had at the end of the summer.” This seems like a wish. Ellume, an Australian test engineer, just had to start making new ones production company in Maryland this month. The company plans to conduct 70 million tests a month by the end of December, in addition to the government’s tests. Abbott says it should achieve the same goal by January. And iHealth Labs, which received an emergency operating license for its testing last month, says it could make 200 million tests a month. from next year.

But the number of people living with HIV is growing day, which means that the number of people with Covid-19 to be tested is also growing. At this time, it is not known if there are enough tests in the right place and at the right time to reduce the spread of Covid-19 in the US. Other than that, if there is enough testing, people can test themselves regularly, allowing new cases to be caught faster and the virus to spread more slowly.

In it…

Expect shortcomings. Walgreens and CVS told Recode that the demand for the test is increasing and that some of their drug stores are running out. Instead of visiting a few private stores, you can look around to see if the tests are available on most drugstores’ websites, though they may not always be available. Remember that you can have limitations. Walgreens here allows customers to purchase four Covid-19 measuring devices at a time. Either way, if you want to get tested at home, you should to buy first see.

There are also television and local media accounts that monitor the availability of exams in various locations, and people can share information on Facebook groups and the Nextdoor pages. You should also look at buying guides, like this one one from Wired, with updated links to online test sites. When looking for resources, beware of fraudsters on the basis of governmental authority and seeking funding for further testing.

Even if you come to the grocery store for a quick test, you can get a PCR test at a grocery store, emergency room, or testing center. Some of these things can also give you a quick test, which is why you should inquire about getting a PCR and get tested as soon as you go.

In the coming weeks, more free exam options will be available. The Biden government has distributed a wide range of running tests purchased at community centers and hospitals, which can be distributed for free. The White House is planning to create a new page, which people can use to ask the federal government for a free trial at home. Local governments can also provide tests.

However, it will not be possible to get a test. If you think you have a Covid-19, you should isolate yourself, and if necessary, see what medicine can be found. But it will not be possible to know the truth. This means, unfortunately, that now is a good time for everyone to get used to plague uncertainty.


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