PROMISING

FDA Grants First Approval for Coronavirus Antigen Test

The test detects the virus itself rather than the antibodies used to fight against it.

The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the emergency use of the first antigen test for the new coronavirus in the United States, The Wall Street Journal reports. The test detects the virus itself rather than the antibodies produced to combat the contagion, making it more reliable than its counterparts. The Quidel Corporation’s test is reportedly cheaper to manufacture, too. Health experts agree that widespread testing is a measure necessary for a safe reopening of the American economy, but ramping it up to required levels has not yet happened in most of the country, a problem the approval of an antigen test may help solve. “We are ramping up manufacturing to go from 200,000 tests next week [week of May 11] to more than a million a week within several weeks,” Quidel CEO Douglas Bryant told the Journal.