[HN Gopher] LabCorp's at-home Covid-19 test kit is the first to ...
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       LabCorp's at-home Covid-19 test kit is the first to be authorized
       by the FDA
        
       Author : jbegley
       Score  : 132 points
       Date   : 2020-04-21 13:37 UTC (9 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (techcrunch.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (techcrunch.com)
        
       | dznodes wrote:
       | I thought Theranos had those 5 years ago.
        
         | btian wrote:
         | Theranos is a fraud
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | LinuxBender wrote:
       | Does "At Home" mean at home, or send the kit from your home to
       | their lab? It looks like I have to ship my DNA to them. That is
       | not "at home".
       | 
       | LabCorp has been hacked enough times for me to stay far away from
       | them. I was also not impressed with their Lab setup. I had to
       | help other customers input their sensitive data into LabCorp's
       | Kiosk systems because their 2 employees were overloaded. I am
       | happy I left before giving them my data.
       | 
       | No thanks.
        
         | vl wrote:
         | You send your DNA to someone every time you post an envelope.
         | LabCorp is the largest provider doing tests, when you are
         | tested at hospital for example, most likely they will send your
         | sample to them, so there is no difference with doing it at
         | home.
        
         | SparkyMcUnicorn wrote:
         | The first paragraph mentions it's just a collection kit. Comes
         | with a shipping label.
        
         | drcode wrote:
         | Yeah, I'm hoping we'll see serology tests soon that truly are
         | 100% "at home", operating through a test strip. They already
         | have had these tests available in China and other countries
         | since February, but since the US is apparently a third world
         | country in 2020 we will be lucky to see these tests before
         | 2021.
        
           | chki wrote:
           | Actually those test strips tests are basically useless at the
           | moment because they have way too many false positives. But I
           | think there is some interesting work, so maybe we will see
           | these tests at some point in an accurate form which would be
           | extremely helpful.
        
           | [deleted]
        
       | techdevangelist wrote:
       | What is the expectation people will actually get the swab far
       | enough back to collect a meaningful sample? Having been on the
       | receiving end of a nasal collected flu test, it was a pretty deep
       | probing. I'm kind of doubtful most people can do it to themself
       | properly without some prompting to 'go deeper'.
        
         | James_Henry wrote:
         | There's evidence that for Covid-19 it's not necessary to go as
         | far back as people have been going. There's also evidence that
         | self-collection works well. The FDA has acknowledged this
         | before and allowed self-collection with physician oversight
         | before they allowed this test.
        
           | MikeAmelung wrote:
           | Where is this evidence? How does this square with the
           | evidence that RT-PCR tests are already coming back falsely
           | negative, probably due to missing the virus while swabbing?
           | Pardon me for being skeptical, but this is all from the same
           | people who have bungled this every step of the way.
        
             | cbhl wrote:
             | I'm having trouble finding the actual study, but
             | UnitedHealth Group, working with the Bill & Melinda Gates
             | Foundation, Quest Diagnostics, and the University of
             | Washington did a study on the efficacy of self-swabbing.
             | 
             | https://techcrunch.com/2020/03/25/study-behind-updated-
             | fda-g...
        
             | James_Henry wrote:
             | I found the paper. I haven't read through it so I can't say
             | if it is actually any good, but it is good enough that the
             | FDA changed their recommendations because of it (that might
             | not mean much, of course).
             | 
             | https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.01.20050005
             | v...
        
               | MikeAmelung wrote:
               | Thanks for tracking it down. Doesn't seem to be any
               | problem with accepting their results that it's almost as
               | good as a nasopharyngeal swab, so you won't see me
               | complaining about it again.
        
             | takeda wrote:
             | Not really an evidence, but looks like their instructions
             | explicitly say to not insert it deep:
             | https://www.pixel.labcorp.com/covid-19-sample-collection
        
         | biased_coin wrote:
         | Prompting to 'go deeper' could potentially be done over a video
         | call. I hope LabCorp does some sort of beta testing to know how
         | well people do with instructions.
        
           | James_Henry wrote:
           | https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/emergency-situations-
           | med...
           | 
           | The FDA doesn't think it is necessary to go that deep.
        
         | throwaway55554 wrote:
         | Put a mark on the swab, put a rubber band around the mark on
         | the swab and say it has to go back that far. Have a test for
         | adults and another for children.
         | 
         | But, the video from the actual labcorp website someone else
         | posted shows it does not actually have to go very deep.
        
           | edoceo wrote:
           | Even adult noses are different sizes, the depth is a relative
           | measure.
        
         | jacobriis wrote:
         | You only need to swab the edge of your nostril for this test.
         | 
         | https://www.pixel.labcorp.com/covid-19-sample-collection
        
           | clumsysmurf wrote:
           | It was my understanding, that its easy to get false negatives
           | with this kind of test because the virus moves down the
           | respiratory track as time goes on. Too early, its not
           | sensitive enough. Too late, nothing there. It has to be in a
           | specific window of opportunity. Can somebody jump in and
           | correct me if I am wrong?
        
             | fspeech wrote:
             | It is now thought that the virus can also infect cells in
             | the nose. Cough and nasal discharge could also bring virus
             | from deeper parts of the body to the nasal passage.
        
         | LatteLazy wrote:
         | I think they're just assuming you will pay 119USD (Plus tax and
         | shipping) for a box because coronavirus. What you do with it
         | after your transaction clears really isn't their concern...
        
       | tomohawk wrote:
       | Found this:
       | 
       | https://www.fda.gov/media/136151/download
       | 
       | > Negative results do not preclude SARS-CoV-2 infection and
       | should not be used as the sole basis for patient management
       | decisions. Negative results must be combined with clinical
       | observations, patient history, and epidemiological information.
       | 
       | Here's a brief article that explains why observed symptoms are
       | more important than a test:
       | 
       | https://asiatimes.com/2020/04/how-accurate-are-coronavirus-t...
        
       | FootballMuse wrote:
       | So if I get one of these tests, and it comes back negative, what
       | does that mean?
        
         | vl wrote:
         | This test is mostly useless anyway: you need to administer it
         | at the narrow window when you have covid for it to be
         | effective. This implies that you have to keep it on hand, ie it
         | can be too late to order it when you have symptoms since it can
         | be delivered too late to detect anything. Then you have to wait
         | for results for many days once you send it - so it's useless
         | for guiding your action during the time you have symptoms.
         | 
         | If you administer the test when you don't have symptoms it
         | useless as well since most likely you will miss the window.
        
         | SketchySeaBeast wrote:
         | That'll you need more testing through the rest of the pandemic
         | until it's either over or you come back positive.
        
           | FootballMuse wrote:
           | Sounds like a positive test would be a relief then.
        
             | gweinberg wrote:
             | Yes. The best situation to be in is to have been through it
             | and be immune.
             | 
             | For those of us who aren't showing symptoms and aren't at
             | high risk for exposure, there's no point in testing us
             | unless the test becomes super cheap.
        
               | macintux wrote:
               | > The best situation to be in is to have been through it
               | and be immune.
               | 
               | I think the jury's still out on the odds of achieving
               | even temporary immunity after having caught it.
        
               | grandmczeb wrote:
               | All current evidence says infection confers temporary
               | immunity to the vast majority of people infected. It's
               | not clear how long immunity lasts, but it's most likely
               | on the order of years. And even if you lose immunity, the
               | reinfection will likely be more mild.
               | 
               | https://www.wsj.com/articles/does-covid-19-infection-
               | equal-i...
        
             | finaliteration wrote:
             | I'd say it's a relief if you test positive and then 14 days
             | pass and you experience no or mild symptoms. But I know for
             | me, personally, I'd be a nervous wreck during that period
             | waiting for the symptoms to come (but I also have an
             | underlying respiratory condition so that's a big part of my
             | anxiety).
        
               | SketchySeaBeast wrote:
               | My concern here is why did you pay over $100 when you
               | felt fine? How often would someone sample themselves
               | without symptoms?
        
               | TylerE wrote:
               | Even that is no guarantee. Some of the passengers on that
               | cruise ship became symptomatic weeks later.
        
         | tunesmith wrote:
         | Not sure why you would take it if asymptomatic (assuming you
         | aren't an essential health worker), unless you were told to
         | either as part of a random sample study, or because a contact
         | tracing effort told you you were at risk.
         | 
         | If you take it while symptomatic, I believe the sensitivity is
         | improved, so if it comes back negative, you can be pretty
         | assured that you just have a regular cold, right?
        
       | MikeAmelung wrote:
       | As a childhood sufferer of semi-regular strep throat infections,
       | I have a hard time believing people are going to willingly jam
       | the swab back to where it needs to go. To me, it seems like this
       | will just generate false negatives.
        
       | needle0 wrote:
       | So this has you take a sample and ship it to their lab. How is
       | this going to deal with the risk of biohazard for parcel delivery
       | personnel?
        
         | pwg wrote:
         | Likely something like how this at home mail in test handles
         | those exact same risks:
         | 
         | https://www.cologuardtest.com/
         | 
         | The sample is sealed inside a heavy grade plastic container
         | with a screw top lid.
         | 
         | The plastic container is sealed inside a heavy weight zip-lock
         | bag already form fitted to the inside of the shipping box.
         | 
         | The shipping box itself is quite sturdy.
         | 
         | I suspect something similar for this new LabCorp test, just
         | customized for a swab.
        
         | stronglikedan wrote:
         | It's no more risky than anything else an already infected
         | person may ship, which is why the parcel delivery companies
         | likely already have sufficient mitigation efforts in place.
        
         | refurb wrote:
         | How has 21 and Me been dealing with vials of saliva making it
         | to their lab?
         | 
         | Shipping biological hazards is a solved problem.
        
       | mdszy wrote:
       | Expecting profit during a catastrophe is exactly why the
       | sitaution is as shit as it is right now.
        
         | walkon wrote:
         | Ok, why don't you make a test and sell it at cost?
        
           | mdszy wrote:
           | Corporations are not people.
        
           | [deleted]
        
         | Wowfunhappy wrote:
         | But then, why would any company take the risk of developing a
         | new test?
        
           | mdszy wrote:
           | If you can't see beyond monetary benefit when it comes to
           | saving lives then I have news for you: you're a psycopath.
        
             | sieabahlpark wrote:
             | How do you stay in business long enough to be able to save
             | future lives if you don't any money to do so in the first
             | place.
             | 
             | Should only billionaires and elite have their drugs?
             | 
             | What your proposing isn't actually how the world works. Why
             | don't you go out of your way to go get the same degree as
             | them and make sure you make the bare minimum. Want to spend
             | money on that new machine? Can't, you're only able to
             | charge the cost it took to make the drug, and that new
             | machine wasn't used so it's not in the price...
             | 
             | Profits are about growing and expanding the business,
             | generally a good thing.
        
               | mdszy wrote:
               | You really honestly believe that profits are used by
               | these companies only for innovation, and billions of
               | dollars aren't misappropriated to paying overinflated
               | C-level salaries?
               | 
               | Good one.
        
             | whatshisface wrote:
             | I think a reasonable calibration would be charity=good,
             | usual behavior=usual, and active malice=bad. Having a
             | return around the cost of capital is usual behavior, so I
             | think complaining about a company profiting off a disaster
             | by selling the product that they usually make is kind of
             | like complaining about a person not giving to a food bank.
        
               | pmiller2 wrote:
               | "Usual behavior" should not be "usual" in such an
               | extraordinary situation as a deadly pandemic. Your
               | premise is flawed.
        
               | whatshisface wrote:
               | Because of the way our system works, you and I will pay
               | that 10% in the form of taxes and insurance premiums. I
               | for one, am glad to reward companies who are contributing
               | to the solution for this crisis. Profit is the reward we
               | give to companies for good behavior, and wouldn't you
               | agree that companies who are making tests are behaving
               | well?
        
               | pmiller2 wrote:
               | No, I do not agree that profit is the reward for good
               | behavior, nor that companies attempting to profit off
               | making the tests are behaving well. In fact, profit is
               | often the reward for some very, very harmful behavior. I
               | would say it is at least borderline sociopathic to
               | conflate the profit motive with the desire to do good.
               | Your premise is, again, flawed.
               | 
               | I would be glad to pay for the tests through my taxes if
               | it means people can get them now, for free.
        
               | TheOtherHobbes wrote:
               | The problem isn't the profit, it's the kinds of
               | behaviours to which profit is allocated.
               | 
               | If profit really was a reward for good behaviour, no one
               | would have a problem with it. (Except bad actors.)
               | 
               | In this situation, the goal is to get as many high
               | quality tests out as possible.
               | 
               | If this is truly a reliable and useful test and results
               | are available quickly, then the ideal level of profit is
               | one that maximises that result - i.e. a small profit on
               | each kit to encourage volume sales.
               | 
               | If the tests aren't reliable enough to be clinically
               | useful and they're being sold to the public without a
               | context (i.e. no information about what the result means
               | in terms of changed behaviour or risk) then the kits
               | should be banned for wasting everyone's time and money.
        
               | pmiller2 wrote:
               | If you want to split hairs, I don't have a problem with
               | LabCorp profiting _per se_ from the test. I have a
               | problem with the cost being a barrier to people getting
               | it. If the government were to pay them cost + a small
               | profit to offer it free at the point of delivery, I would
               | have no issue.
               | 
               | I have a philosophical problem with profit being the only
               | motivation for producing the test, but that takes a
               | backseat to practicality here.
        
               | mdszy wrote:
               | The current world situation is anything but usual.
        
             | bigyikes wrote:
             | Well that's just it, isn't it? We are talking about
             | corporations, not people. A corporation is motivated by
             | profit and is, in some loose sense, a "psychopath." Sure,
             | corporations are composed of people, but your moral
             | argument is a lot more complicated in relation to an
             | aggregate of people instead of just an individual.
             | 
             | Anyway, more tests are available than would be had LabCorp
             | not existed, so seems like a win-win to me.
        
             | formercoder wrote:
             | Such a tough conversation. I want to think that these firms
             | should do this research out of the goodness of their
             | hearts, but i know that their employees want to go on
             | vacation and send their kids to college. I believe in the
             | invisible hand, and honestly don't know the solution to
             | these healthcare problems. Maybe just raising taxes and
             | paying for all research by the government, but then I worry
             | about the inefficiencies therein.
        
               | sethhochberg wrote:
               | Personally I'd love to see someone explore the idea of
               | incentives that heavily favor benefit corporations and/or
               | employee-owned coops for commercial activity in direct
               | support of human rights (assuming we're approaching the
               | problem from a place where people agree access to
               | healthcare, medicines, etc is a human right).
               | 
               | People who do the incredibly valuable work of developing
               | drugs shouldn't be forced to live a life of squalor, and
               | can be compensated generously for the value and
               | complexity of their work, but I think most people's
               | objections to pharma companies as they typically exist
               | today are centered around companies reporting substantial
               | profits and conflated ideas about obligations to
               | shareholders.
               | 
               | Its a lot easier to feel good about a company reporting a
               | profit if you're confident the company's governance
               | structure ensures that profit is mostly lockboxed for
               | future R&D instead of a shareholder dividend to people
               | who may not even know their investment is funding
               | medicine.
        
               | formercoder wrote:
               | Good ideas, but without distribution of profits how are
               | these companies going to be capitalized? Maybe government
               | owns the equity?
        
             | nicoburns wrote:
             | On the other hand, businesses in other industries that are
             | not so beneficial to society will happily charge gob loads
             | of money for their services. IMO giving these companies
             | some profit is a good thing, so long as the money is made
             | available so that everyone can afford the product, and so
             | long as it doesn't stop or slow it's distribution.
        
           | refurb wrote:
           | Exactly. I'd love to ask all the people criticizing this to
           | work for free for a few months because "it's the right thing
           | to do in a crisis".
           | 
           | I'm guessing there would be zero takers.
        
             | wwweston wrote:
             | Personally, I _would_ do (and have done) certain kinds of
             | work without monetary compensation because I want to see it
             | done, or because I think there 's some other upside.
             | 
             | However, I probably wouldn't ask that of LabCorp in this
             | circumstance, because what I want from institutions
             | providing testing is scaling up while providing an
             | effective product/service. Not getting revenue makes that
             | considerably harder.
             | 
             | Public subsidies might make a lot of sense, though,
             | especially to the extent that everyone wins the
             | broader/deeper test coverage is, but not everyone has a
             | disposable $100.
        
             | 1-more wrote:
             | There's a structural limit to a market based economy that
             | can only be overcome with central planning. This is it. We
             | ran into it.
        
             | TheOtherHobbes wrote:
             | In fact quite a number of people are out there working for
             | free because "it's the right thing to do in a crisis."
        
         | Teever wrote:
         | How have you been foregoing profit for your work during this
         | calamitous time? Have you been laid off like many people or are
         | you simply returning the cheques that your employer sends you?
         | 
         | Personally I've been continuing to show up for work despite my
         | employer not having sufficient funds to pay me but I understand
         | that every situation is different.
        
           | mdszy wrote:
           | Existing within a system is not inherent endorsement of that
           | system.
        
           | mdszy wrote:
           | Corporations are not people.
        
           | claudeganon wrote:
           | Profit != wages. A company profiting off a test is not the
           | same as a worker being paid for their labor. Something being
           | made at cost would price in the cost of labor, while profit
           | is in excess of that (and all other expenses).
        
             | ars wrote:
             | So what you are saying is that everyone should work for
             | minimum wage, and any wage in excess of that is profit?
        
             | revnode wrote:
             | I would say anything above your costs of living would be
             | profit in a wage, no?
        
         | dang wrote:
         | Ok, but please don't post unsubstantive or flamebait comments
         | to HN.
         | 
         | We detached this subthread from
         | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22936488.
        
         | TomatoTomato wrote:
         | economic profit, gross profit, operating profit, or net profit?
        
       | ianhawes wrote:
       | > Pixel by LabCorp(tm) is not available in NY, NJ, MD, or RI due
       | to restrictions on how laboratory tests may be ordered. Please
       | talk with your healthcare provider about options for getting
       | tested.
       | 
       | Ah wonderful, so this rules out states accounting for 45% of the
       | confirmed cases.
        
         | hnburnsy wrote:
         | Looks like New York and Maryland ban consumer initiated lab
         | tests...
         | 
         | https://www.technologyreview.com/2017/09/28/148899/as-consum...
        
         | joncrane wrote:
         | I remember when they banned 23andme in MD, I researched it and
         | it turns out the health insurance companies successfully
         | lobbied against it with the argument that information asymmetry
         | may lead to loss of profits.
         | 
         | I'm still salty and I think this is part of the same scenario.
         | 
         | Having said that, I think Governor Hogan is one of the best
         | governors out there wrt state level response to Covid. Right up
         | there with Newsom and Cuomo.
        
           | chimeracoder wrote:
           | > Right up there with Newsom and Cuomo.
           | 
           | Cuomo cut Medicaid funding by $6 billion _during_ the
           | pandemic. He dragged his feet on issuing a stay-at-home order
           | for a week after the city government had asked for one (the
           | governor has the sole authority to authorize one in NY). San
           | Francisco beat Cuomo to the punch by nearly a week, even
           | though New York had been hit earlier and harder with COVID-19
           | cases. Cuomo also fought against closing NYC schools even
           | after the city and teachers were already on board with the
           | idea. As a result of New York 's sluggish response, community
           | spread of COVID-19 happened much more rapidly than it did in
           | other urbanized areas of the country (most notably San
           | Francisco), so hospitals were already overloaded even before
           | the stay-at-home order had been issued. On top of that, Cuomo
           | also expanded pretrial detention for nonviolent drug
           | offenders during the pandemic, which puts even more people in
           | unnecessary close contact.
           | https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/cuomo-has-learned-
           | no...
           | 
           | As of today, 1 in 1000 New Yorkers who were alive a month ago
           | are now dead. Cuomo might not be the only person responsible
           | for the current situation in New York, but it's clear that
           | things would be better in New York had Cuomo taken action
           | instead of fighting public health officials at every turn.
        
       | tomohawk wrote:
       | Any idea what the false positive / false negative rate is?
        
         | gshdg wrote:
         | Yeah, haven't false negatives been a scourge of at-home testing
         | kits released in other countries?
        
       | WoodenChair wrote:
       | Is there a possibility of us getting an FDA sanctioned OTC
       | antibody test in the near future so we can find out if we already
       | had the virus?
        
         | James_Henry wrote:
         | I'm sure it will come, but it looks like the FDA is waiting
         | until the big companies ask for an EUA because they don't trust
         | the startups (or the startups aren't able to do what LabCorp
         | does?)
        
         | zenyc wrote:
         | We are working on this. I can't share more here but if you are
         | interested and want to help, let me know how at
         | zen[at]rapidcov[dot]com (dev, design, marketing, medical,
         | partnerships, etc). We have our core team in place but we are
         | planning to be bring on more people in the next few weeks.
         | 
         | P.S. ignore the website, it's not the product.
        
           | James_Henry wrote:
           | What would make you different from the many many EUA antibody
           | tests already on the market? How are you going to get yours
           | approved for OTC at-home use?
        
             | zenyc wrote:
             | Originally, we tried to bring the existing antibody tests
             | that can only be sold to medical practitioners. During that
             | process, we engaged in conversations with the FDA to get
             | approval and we asked them what their concerns are with at-
             | home antibody test kits. Once they explained us, we went
             | back to the drawing board and worked on a solution that
             | would allow us to mitigate the FDA's concerns.
             | 
             | We then proceeded to present our solution to the FDA. They
             | were positive so we filed for our pre-EUA and now we are
             | working with an FDA reviewer.
             | 
             | I'm not going to pretend that our solution will end being
             | approved. I have no idea since none of us (the three
             | founders) have medical device experience. Nonetheless, we
             | are willing to take a huge risk in terms of money and time,
             | and at least know at the end that we gave it our best shot.
        
         | pmiller2 wrote:
         | There's one available in Richmond, CA for $125:
         | https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/COVID-19-antibody-tes...
        
           | renewiltord wrote:
           | It's $199 (+taxes).
        
             | pmiller2 wrote:
             | It literally says $125 in the opening paragraph of the
             | article I linked. Do you have updated information?
        
               | renewiltord wrote:
               | Yes, the lab itself. https://app.acuityscheduling.com/sch
               | edule.php?owner=19381748
        
       | LatteLazy wrote:
       | Before people get excited that the FDA approved something, how
       | much testing have the FDA done on this product and how many other
       | tests have they declined to authorize?
       | 
       | Right now, FDA approved means about as much as Probably not
       | immediately lethal.
        
       | stronglikedan wrote:
       | $119 [0], since it's not mentioned in the article.
       | 
       | Also, not yet available to the masses:
       | 
       | > With limited quantities of kits available, Pixel by LabCorp is
       | currently prioritizing healthcare workers and first responders,
       | consistent with guidance from the CDC. We plan to make kits more
       | broadly available soon so please check back.
       | 
       | [0]https://www.pixel.labcorp.com/
        
         | fmakunbound wrote:
         | Anyone know if that $119 at cost? LabCorp is going to make a
         | killing of this crisis...
        
           | malandrew wrote:
           | Maybe, maybe not. Their other tests have almost no demand
           | right now due to coronavirus. How much of a killing they make
           | will depend on which tests have better margins.
        
             | hbosch wrote:
             | I believe LabCorp's Men's Health Test is relatively popular
             | amongst guys looking to check their testosterone levels.
             | The results can be taken to a "men's health physician", or
             | a "bio-identical hormone physician", or whatever else they
             | are called and used to justify legal hormone therapies
             | (typically testosterone injections and/or estrogen-
             | blockers). Common for bodybuilders, or even just dudes
             | closing in on 60 who want to stay good at golf.
        
           | stronglikedan wrote:
           | Likely not "at cost", since a for-profit company should be
           | expected to be making a profit, but probably close,
           | considering the herculean effort to get these things to
           | market, despite the red tape.
        
             | three_seagrass wrote:
             | The Labcorp Pixel covid kit is a mail-in sample swap for a
             | PCR test. The variable cost is magnitudes lower than $119.
        
               | James_Henry wrote:
               | There is also the variable cost of the technician needed
               | to run the machine, no?
        
               | three_seagrass wrote:
               | Lab techs will spend at _maximum_ a couple minutes on
               | each test, if they are manually preparing and pipetting
               | samples, as the majority of the test is automated on a
               | PCR thermocycler. At $30 /hr that's $1/test in labor at
               | most.
        
               | foota wrote:
               | Right, but isn't there capital costs associated with
               | being able to run them?
        
       | nikofeyn wrote:
       | how does this help? if you can test at home, so what? how does
       | that change anything? it's not being tracked, can you trust
       | results, etc.
        
         | gweinberg wrote:
         | Saves the risk of infecting someone or being infected at a
         | testing center. You don't want to be going near a hospital
         | these days if you don't have to.
        
         | KaiserPro wrote:
         | Isn't it a notifiable disease? Wouldn't that put the onus on
         | the testing company to report a positive test?
         | 
         | I'm not sure how that works in the states.
        
         | SkyPuncher wrote:
         | It won't do much for most people - which is why healthcare
         | workers and first responders are being prioritized.
         | 
         | My wife is a doctor and cared for our county's first COVID-
         | positive patient before he was formally diagnosed (took 11 days
         | to get test results). She was on self-isolation for 3 weeks for
         | late March/early April. Two weeks for the initial exposure, 1
         | more week because of a low-grade fever. We're still not certain
         | if she had it (I got symptoms about 5 days after she did)
         | because it was extremely difficult to get her tested.
         | 
         | The challenge now is monitoring her with likely exposure when
         | she'll be working in-patient for the month of June. While these
         | tests aren't perfect, they can give us some direction on how we
         | need handle things at home. The price is reasonable enough that
         | we can simply order the test for her directly without having to
         | call 20 different people across 3 different hospital systems to
         | get the sign-off on testing.
         | 
         | A negative doesn't tell us much (as she could still have it),
         | but a positive is a strong indication that she should be
         | avoiding patient interactions and likely self-isolating at
         | home.
        
           | SketchySeaBeast wrote:
           | > A negative doesn't tell us much (as she could still have
           | it), but a positive is a strong indication that she should be
           | avoiding patient interactions and likely self-isolating at
           | home.
           | 
           | Doesn't it only tell you if you should now be immune once
           | your sickness is over? Otherwise you have to act like you
           | have it if you have the symptoms regardless of the test.
           | Avoiding patient interactions and self isolating should
           | happen regardless, shouldn't it?
        
       | ck2 wrote:
       | Well, it's three months and 40,000 deaths late but it's a start.
       | 
       | But there needs to be anonymous antibody testing at home like a
       | pregnancy test.
       | 
       | BTW also needs the post office properly funded and saved from
       | bankruptcy. WTF are we bailing out cruise ships and not the post
       | office?
        
         | renewiltord wrote:
         | Well considering it's been three months and 40k deaths and you
         | have given us nothing, I'm going to go with the guy who gave me
         | something.
        
         | throwaway55554 wrote:
         | Follow the money. Who do the CEOs of the cruise ships know that
         | are in Congress?
        
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