Updated 19 July 2020 at 10:58 IST
FDA gives emergency authorization to 'pool testing' to enhance diagnostic capacity
Technique deployed in the pool testing approved by FDA involves any test that turns back negative implies all four tests as negative and vice-versa.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an emergency use authorization for Quest Diagnostics for the pool or batch testing in the US—a testing technique with increased capacity, allowing over four test samples to be tested at once. The approval comes amid a massive surge in the confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the US that recorded more than 70,000 infections in the past 24 hours, according to a global tally.
As per the technique deployed in the pool testing, any test that turns back negative implies all four tests as negative and vice-versa. While the technique has been adopted by the United States lately in view of rising cases, the method has been around for decades around and has been used by several countries, including China, Germany, Israel, and Thailand during the global pandemic. Pooled testing was also opted for by the US military in the 1940s, as per reports. Earlier, Dr Anthony Fauci, the US' top infectious disease expert, mentioned that the White House coronavirus task force was "seriously considering" pool testing for COVID-19
This emergency use authorization for sample pooling is an important step forward in getting more COVID-19 tests to more Americans more quickly while preserving testing supplies, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said in an online statement.
Sample pooling becomes especially important as infection rates decline and we begin testing larger portions of the population, she added.
Running out of tests, failing to meet targets
Last week, the White House coronavirus task force highlighted 18 states in the "red zone," which implies over 100 new cases per 100,000 people in a week that demands widescale testing in order to contain the rapidly growing outbreak. According to reports, the United States, despite its claims, has been inefficient in the implementation of large-scale testing. Health officials said at the press conference that the technique can “help track and stop the spread of the coronavirus.” As per local reports, more than half of the total states witnessing a rapid surge in the COVID-19 disease are either running out of testing, or failing to meet testing targets except the Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts among 11 states.
(Image Credit: AP)
Published By : Zaini Majeed
Published On: 19 July 2020 at 10:58 IST