The Food and Drug Administration has authorized the first Covid-19 test that uses breath samples to will deliver results in less than five minutes, the agency said Thursday.
The InspectIR Covid-19 Breathalyzer test will join the nation’s arsenal in its bid to stop the virus from spreading by providing results in roughly three minutes.
The test still has to be done by a trained operator, and will detect the chemicals associated with the coronavirus that causes the disease in a breath sample.
If the breath test turns out to be positive, it will likely be followed up by a molecular test, the FDA revealed in a statement.
‘Today’s authorization is yet another example of the rapid innovation occurring with diagnostic tests for Covid-19,’ said Dr. Jeff Shuren, director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health.
The new tests come as the CDC reports a spike in cases of the BA.2 omicron subvariant, which currently accounts for about 86 percent of cases nationwide.
While the country’s Covid hospitalizations remain at an all-time low, the average case numbers per day have spiked nine percent over the last two weeks, according to NBC News.
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A patient is tested for Covid-19 with the InspectIR Covid-19 Breathalyzer test, which was just authorized by the FDA
The equipment itself for the InspectIR Covid-19 Breathalyzer, pictured, is around the size of a piece of carry-on luggage
The InspectIR Covid-19 Breathalyzer, which can provide results in roughly three-minutes time
The equipment for the InspectIR Covid-19 Breathalyzer is around the size of a piece of carry-on luggage.
The traditional tests typically involve saliva or nasal swabs, with the polymerase chain reaction, otherwise known as the PCR test, being considered to be the most accurate.
Another form of Covid-19 testing, known as rapid tests, can be done at home.
A health worker collects a nose swab sample for a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test at the Mycorama coronavirus testing facility
Pictured: a government issued Covid-19 at home test kit
Since the pandemic began in March 2020, there have been over 80 million cases in the US, with more than 988,000 deaths.
The number of American population that has received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine currently stands at about 77.3 percent, per the most recent data.
Although mask regulations have been largely done away with in recent weeks, federal mask requirements for travelers on trains, planes and other transit systems have been extended through May 3, the CDC announced on Wednesday.
