Abbott Labs Ships 1.4 Million Rapid COVID-19 Test Kits Across U.S.

• Abbott Laboratories announced recently that they have shipped nearly 1.4 million of coronavirus rapid test kits to all 50 states in the United States.
• The distribution is in line with the government’s efforts in ramping up mass testing nationwide.
• Abbott said they are now aiming to manufacture 2 million rapid test kits every month by the start of June.

In line with the United States government’s aim to ramp up mass testing efforts in the country, Abbott Laboratories recently announced that they have nearly 1.4-million rapid test kits for patients.

In a press release posted in Abbott Laboratories’ official website, the company said they distributed 1.4-million rapid ID NOW tests to all 50 states, including Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the Pacific Islands.

“The majority of these tests have been sent to outbreak hotspots and we’ve asked that customers prioritize frontline health care workers and first responders,” Abbott stated.

In March 2020, Abbott Laboratories began distributing lab-based antibody blood test kits to urgent care clinics, hospital emergency departments, and physicians’ offices. Branded as ID NOW COVID-19, the rapid testing kit helps determine if a patient, who experiences common symptoms, has been infected with the novel coronavirus.

“Abbott’s ID NOW COVID-19 test can deliver positive results in as little as five minutes and negative results in 13 minutes,” Abbott said in a Forbes report.

ID NOW COVID-19 test kits is a blood-based test that detect the antibody called IgG to SARS-CoV-2. Through the detection of IgG antibodies, it would determine whether or not a patient has previously been infected of coronavirus.

Currently, the firm is manufacturing 50,000 tests per day. They are planning to increase their manufacturing capacity to 2-million test kits a month by June.

Aside from distributing test kits, Abbott Laboratories is also monitoring the deployment of the rapid tests to avoid “hoarding or price-gouging” in secondary markets.

According to Forbes, the Trump administration has been receiving criticisms about public access to coronavirus testing. The White House eventually assured that the country’s COVID-19 situation is improving, despite having 1.1-million people contracting the virus.

In March, the Food and Drug Administration approved ID NOW COVID-19 Test, under “emergency use authorization”. So far, the FDA has been increasing its effort to approve rapid “point-of-care” diagnostic application by other companies, including Mesa Biotech and Cepheid.

Mesa Biotech has also shipped thousands of test kits, while Cepheid is ramping up production to meet the demand.

Here are some medical professionals who have used the ID NOW COVID-19 Tests: