U.S. plans for hundreds of millions of cheap, fast COVID-19 tests

Manufacturing and government sources tell Reuters that more than half a dozen so-called antigen tests will likely be authorized by the end of October. U.S. regulators in recent months have authorized antigen tests from Abbott Laboratories, Becton Dickinson & Co, Quidel Corp and LumiraDX.

When planned production of the newly authorized tests are combined with previously approved diagnostics, overall monthly U.S. testing capacity will exceed 200 million per month by year end, these sources said.

Makers of the four recently-approved antigen tests have the capacity to make around 40 million per month, but expect to more than double that by year end, according to a Reuters analysis that includes proprietary figures shared by companies.

Unlike the $100 and up molecular diagnostics currently dominating U.S. testing that must be sent to a lab and often take several days for results, antigen tests can cost as little as $5. They can be performed anywhere and produce results in minutes.

That opens the possibility of regular screening at schools and businesses of even asymptomatic people, an important tool for containing future outbreaks, experts said. ...

Antigen tests detect certain proteins that are part of the virus from samples taken via nasal or throat swabs, similar to rapid tests for strep throat in a doctor’s office. ...

Still, regulators and health experts are concerned about antigen test reliability. They typically detect the virus around 80% to 90% of the time, below the more than 95% rate of lab-based tests. False negative results raise the likelihood that sick people could unwittingly spread COVID-19. ...