The FDA has officially authorized LabCorp to sell COVID-19 at-home test kit ‘Pixel’ to consumers at stores. The leading healthcare diagnostics company is now allowed to have their kits available for public use above the age of 18 to purchase them from pharmacies and retailers without any prescription.
LabCorp is the first-ever health diagnostics company in the US to have received such authorization from federal authorities. This will allow citizens to purchase the kit from retail stores or have it delivered to their doorstep by placing their order online from the official store.
In April, the FDA also provided emergency approval to Pixel, America’s first at-home COVID-19 testing kit.
People facing SARS-CoVV-2, commonly known as COVID-19, symptoms can test themselves by collecting a nasal sample at the comfort of their home, and later send it to LabCorp for further testing. In case the result is negative, the report will be emailed or delivered through LabCorp’s online portal. But, in the case of positive results, a health provider will be informed with all their necessary contact information, who will then contact the tested person directly.
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Dr. Brian Caveney, who is also the Chief Medical Officer and President of LabCorp Diagnostics stated that the aim behind getting the authorization to have Pixel COVID-19 kits available online and be distributed at retailers and pharmacies is so that LabCorp can play its role in reducing the spread of Coronavirus.
Even though criticized, but LabCorp’s emergency kit is usually considered appropriate for testing; however, the company states that it doesn’t detect antibodies or immunity. Pixel’s sole purpose is to see if an active infection may be there or not, and the test results are then delivered within 1-2 days of the nasal sample received.
It is still recommended to have testing done by an official health provider. The aim of this at-home collection kit and its authorization by the FDA is to provide people with the ease of access to an emergency kit in situations where it is risky to take a person to a health institution or provider.
The Pixel will also be available at pharmacies and retailers. Yet, no such information regarding which pharmacies and retailers the kit will be made available at has been released. For now, the kit is only available at Pixel by LabCorp’s website. The diagnostics company asks people to stay tuned to their social media pages – Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter – for further updates about over-the-counter availability.
Featured image: LabCorp
