Medics wait to collect swabs for Covid-19 tests in Kolkata | PTI
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New Delhi: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the first-ever emergency approval to a Covid-19 antigen test. It was granted to San Diego-based Quidel Corporation — a major manufacturer of diagnostic healthcare products.

Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, said in April that a “breakthrough innovation” in antigen testing was needed to speed reopening of the US economy.

Antigen tests detect Covid-19 antigens — the proteins located on the outer surface of the coronavirus that trigger an immune response in the body. These are also inexpensive.

FDA’s move could mark a major breakthrough in the screening for the virus and comes just as governments are easing the lockdown and businesses begin reopening across the nation. Health professionals argue that swift screening is essential to temper new outbreaks.

Each test will probably cost approximately $5, with results available within minutes, said Scott Gottlieb, former FDA chief, now a special partner at New Enterprise Associates, a venture capital firm that invests in the healthcare and biotech sectors.

The newly-approved test is about 85 per cent sensitive, hence it can be used as a screening. 

Different Covid tests available 

RT-PCR test is the industry standard test for Covid-19. This method depends on converting RNA to DNA and then searching for a DNA sequence. This test is slow and expensive. 

The other test are those checking for antibodies produced by the human body’s immune system in response to the Covid-19 antigen. These are quick and inexpensive but antibodies are produced several days after a person is infected. These tests have been inaccurate also, but that problem seems to have been solved by a Swiss company named Roche. 

Roche’s antibody test is supposed to be of very low variance and it will produce 100 million units every month by the end of this year. 

Data from New York

Recent serology surveys suggest about 20 per cent of adult New Yorkers have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 so far. 

One in every 137 New Yorkers aged 45-64 has been hospitalised for Covid-19, and approximately 25 per cent of the city’s total population of 8.4 million has perished from the disease.

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