Acting Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Andy Slavitt announced this morning that a new over-the-counter COVID-19 test kit will be available later this month for consumers. Manufactured by Ellume Health in Australia, the nasal swab test claims a 95% accuracy rating with results available in 15 minutes.
From Ellume Health's website:
"The test includes a sterile Nasal Swab, a Dropper, Processing Fluid, and a Bluetooth® connected Analyzer for use with an App on the user's smartphone.
Utilizing the dedicated App, the user follows step-by-step instructions to perform the test including a self-collected mid-turbinate swab. The sample is analyzed and results are automatically transmitted to the user's smartphone via Bluetooth®. Results can be shared with healthcare professionals to enable optimal therapy.
Through a secure cloud connection, the Ellume COVID-19 Home Test provides real time reporting of test results and critical data to health authorities, employers and educators, for efficient COVID-19 mapping."
The $231,000,000 contract awarded by the US government will ramp up production through the building of a new factory, with the goal of manufacturing over eight million tests for federal use. The tests are expected to cost $30.
