The US Food and Drug Administration has authorized antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 to be used for serial testing of asymptomatic people, as GenomeWeb reports.
The tests include Quidel's QuickVue At-Home OTC COVID-19 Test, Abbott's BinaxNOW, and Becton Dickinson's BD Veritor System for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2. FDA notes that these tests had previously received authorization to test symptomatic individuals, but now have been given the OK for use in serial testing of asymptomatic people.
This, NPR adds, could help slow the spread of COVID-19 by identifying asymptomatic individuals who nevertheless can spread the virus.
"Screening testing, especially with the over-the-counter tests authorized today, is an important part of the country's pandemic response — many schools, workplaces, communities, and other entities are setting up testing programs to quickly screen for COVID-19," Jeff Shuren, the director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, says in a statement.