Apr 1, 2021 - Health

FDA authorizes reusable over-the-counter coronavirus tests

Orion Rummler

Someone gets a temperature check while wearing a blue face mask — Antonia Esparza performs a temperature check on people arriving for their single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine in Los Angeles. Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

The Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization on Wednesday for two over-the-counter coronavirus tests that can be used routinely.

Why it matters: Although the FDA had already issued authorizations for several at-home coronavirus tests, most recently earlier this month, the tests greenlighted this week can be used multiple times instead of once.

Details: The Quidel QuickVue At-Home OTC COVID-19 test and multiple versions of the Abbott BinaxNOW test received authorizations for at-home use.

The FDA also authorized the BD Veritor System for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2 for use at point-of-care locations.

What they're saying: “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, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a press release.

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FDA authorizes reusable over-the-counter coronavirus tests

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