An at-home fingerprick blood test may help detect your exposure to coronavirus

[SheltieLover]

[link:https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/home-fingerprick-blood-test-may-help-detect-your-exposure-coronavirus-n1176086|

If approved, the blood test could show if your immune system has developed coronavirus antibodies. But a positive result isn't a license to return to work.

An at-home fingerprick blood test may help detect your exposure to coronavirus
If approved, the blood test could show if your immune system has developed coronavirus antibodies. But a positive result isn't a license to return to work.
April 4, 2020, 6:42 AM CDT
By Aliza Nadi.

"The entire testing process happens at home," says Scanwell Chief Medical Officer Jack Jeng, "No specimen has to be shipped back."

A positive test result means a patient has been exposed to COVID-19 at some point in the past and has developed antibodies to fight it.

What the test can't do is tell you whether you're currently sick with coronavirus, whether you're contagious, whether you're fully immune — and whether you're safe to go back out in public.

[tblue37]

1. K&R for visibility. nt

[crickets]

2. Still a step in the right direction.

eta -

...for use in the U.S. they will have to cleared by the FDA. Scanwell has applied to the FDA for Emergency Use Authorization, and the earliest the approval would come would likely be two months from now, according to Jeng.

How the tests work
Once a doctor from Scanwell partner telehealth company Lemonaid determines a patient's eligibility for the test, the test kit is sent via next business day delivery to the patient's home, said Jeng. The patient places the blood droplet on a test cassette. After 15 minutes, the results appear and the patient uploads an image to the Scanwell Health app. On the other end, a Lemonaid doctor or nurse practitioner will deliver the results in a few hours, said Jeng.

Well, there's a bottleneck or two. Also there's no explanation of eligibility. Hmm. Hopefully more information will be forthcoming soon. That is amazing to be able to do a test like this at home with a phone.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Any progress is good. This is a big step in the right direction. n/t

[SheltieLover]

4. Absolutely!

I was excited to see this info.

Who knows what FDA will do with approval though.

And I wonder about cost.

[zonemaster]

5. Thousand bucks a pop

Whattaya bet. Order it through exclusive distributor "Ogal-A-Ram Only-the-Best Medical Supplies, Inc.", takes 3 months to arrive after ping-ponging across the ocean a few times , and when the delivery guy is putting away his stylus after I sign for it, an expressionless J-Red pops out of a bush, swipes it out of my hand emitting a monotone "Mine", and disappears.

</snark></cynicism></humor>

[TeamPooka]

6. J-Red is a wuss. Such a poser.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

7. So if it doesn't tell you if you're contagious or fully immune, why bother?

If all you know is that you've been exposed but don't know if you're contagious or fully immune, you haven't learned anything useful.

[thesquanderer]

10. My guess: If you test positive for the antibodies AND do not develop symptoms in the next 14 days...

...you can consider yourself safe, both in terms of being able to catch it, and in being able to spread it to others.

[Midnight Writer]

8. Easy enough. There is a prick that has been popping up on my TV screen every afternoon.

[duforsure]

9. So these could be mailed out to cover everyone getting these much needed tests

And this needs to happen here ASAP. Testing , testing , testing is one of the things used to improve this situation. But with trump , Mnuchin , and Jared involved will worsen it because they'll interfere and slow any progress down, like they're doing now. trumps intentionally dragging his feet , and demanding others do it too. trump is using this now as a weapon, and may be why he's done nothing allowing it to spread, while he's doing other things to gain more power and the American people's attention is on the virus.