May 11, 2020 - Health

FDA grants emergency use authorization for Abbott coronavirus antibody test

Microscopic image of an isolate from the first U.S. case of COVID-19. Photo: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

The FDA granted Monday an emergency use authorization for a new coronavirus antibody test by Abbott Laboratories.

Why it matters: Companies are pushing to create antibody tests, which indicate whether a person had the coronavirus in the past, including those who were asymptomatic.

  • The company wants to ship nearly 30 million tests in May and 60 million by June, per a press release.
  • Abbott says the test can give results of 99.6% specificity and 100% sensitivity for patients tested 14 days after symptoms began.

The big picture: The Trump administration has recommended that these tests be offered as states begin to reopen some businesses so Americans can feel confident about returning to work.

  • Abbott's antibody test is its fourth coronavirus-linked emergency use authorization from the FDA.
  • Its rapid test for coronavirus infections, which produces results in just minutes, is used at the White House.

Worth noting, via Axios' Caitlin Owens: We don't actually know whether antibodies are necessarily indicative of immunity —  or how strong that immunity might be.

  • The best value here is in understanding the virus' true spread and helping the highest-risk workplaces operate more safely — not as any kind of universal, nationwide get-back-to-normal permit.

Go deeper: U.S. doubles payment for some coronavirus tests

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Axios
Updated 15 hours ago - Health

World coronavirus updates

Expand chart
Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced all domestic pandemic restrictions will be lifted in New Zealand from midnight Monday except in Auckland, where they'll be eased late Wednesday.

The big picture: Ardern delayed the country's election until Oct. 17 as authorities work to stamp out a coronavirus cluster in Auckland, after the re-emergence of COVID-19. There have been single-digit or zero domestic cases in NZ's most populous city since the government reintroduced restrictions.

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Rebecca Falconer
Aug 18, 2020 - World

CDC lifts travel warning as Bermuda ramps up testing to suppress coronavirus

A view of Coral Beach, Bermuda. Photo: Slim Aarons/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The CDC has lifted its coronavirus warning against nonessential travel to Bermuda, as the island ramps up a scheme to attract foreign workers on year-long residencies and marks 57 days with no detected community spread.

Driving the news: Over half of the British Overseas Territory's population has been tested for COVID-19 since on-island capabilities were set up on March 17. Premier David Burt told Axios the strict testing has left him "confident that we are going to be able to catch any clusters before they spread."

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Axios
Updated 3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 10 a.m. ET: 31,103,347 — Total deaths: 961,435— Total recoveries: 21,281,441 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 10 a.m. ET: 6,813,984 — Total deaths: 199,525 — Total recoveries: 2,590,671 — Total tests: 95,108,559 — Map.
  3. Health: CDC updates guidances to say coronavirus can be spread through the air — Nursing homes are evicting unwanted patients.
  4. Politics: Testing czar on Trump's CDC contradictions: "Everybody is right."
  5. Education: College students give failing grade on return to campus.
  6. Business: Unemployment concerns are growing.
  7. World: "The Wake-Up Call" warns the West about the consequences of mishandling a pandemic.
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