Rapid Antigen Tests
The most powerful antigen in human biology is a new idea - Anonymous
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HWN Suggests
Antigen testing has some serious problems. Done right, it could reshape the future of health care
The untold backstory here is that many people are growing accustomed to simultaneously serving as doctor and patient. Before the pandemic struck, the idea that millions of people would administer tests on themselves at home to determine whether they had a life-threatening illness seemed difficult to imagine. Today, it’s part of daily life.
While home-based antigen tests have made a questionable epidemiological contribution to tracking and confronting the pandemic, the real value they present goes far beyond Covid-19. If people trust their results, the ultimate outcome of the U.S. government investing an expected $50 billion to subsidize at-home testing may spark movement on many…
Featured
Hark, A Virus! Or, How Rapid Antigen Tests Work
It’s one of those everyday marvels you may not think about: a five dollar test that takes mere minutes to tell you you’re pregnant, on drugs, and/or infected with a deadly virus. Okay, so maybe it’s understandable that these tests don’t get the appreciation they deserve. That doesn’t make them any less awesome.
The evolution of rapid antigen detection systems and their application for COVID-19 and other serious respiratory infectious diseases
Antigen-detection systems have had a relatively long and successful history as a laboratory diagnostic option for a select group of infectious diseases.
Articles of Interest
This Scientist Created a Rapid Test Just Weeks Into the Pandemic. Here’s Why You Still Can’t Get It.
Irene Bosch developed a quick, inexpensive COVID-19 test in early 2020. The Harvard-trained scientist already had a factory set up. But she was stymied by an FDA process experts say made no sense.
Why doesn’t the U.S. have at-home flu tests?
Beyond getting tests approved, it’s hard for test makers to transition into the at-home market because insurance reimbursements don’t typically cover at-home tests, whereas lab diagnostics are usually covered.
