The COVID-19 test, which was approved for at-home use through an emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 20, was initially made available to health care workers and first responders last month. The expansion of at-home testing announced Tuesday enables people around the country with symptoms or suspected exposure to get tested without visiting a doctor’s office as states begin lifting stay-at-home orders.
“We worked with LabCorp to ensure the data demonstrated from at-home patient sample collection is as safe and accurate as sample collection at a doctor’s office, hospital or other testing site,” FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn said in a press release last month. “There is now a convenient and reliable option for patient sample collection from the comfort and safety of their home.”
To get a COVID-19 test, a patient must first complete an online survey to determine if they qualify. Once approved, LabCorp bills their insurance for the test—and if the patient does not have health insurance, LabCorp said the cost of the test would be covered by federal funding. After receiving the test in the mail, patients can then use the included nasal swab to collect a sample and send it back to LabCorp’s laboratories for processing.
Patients are typically able to view their test results online between two and four days after their samples are retrieved, LabCorp said. Though only 200,000 at-home COVID-19 tests were available Tuesday, the company said it was prepared to ramp up testing availability as needed.
Antibody tests for COVID-19 were also available to order online Tuesday, though LabCorp said the blood sample collection for those must happen in person. According to LabCorp, there are more than 2,000 sites around the country where samples can be conducted, including at official LabCorp facilities and at some Walgreens stores. Like the COVID-19 test, the antibody test does not require up-front costs for those who qualify, though there is a $10 fee for patients who want to discuss their results with an independent doctor. Those who don’t qualify for a COVID-19 test are more likely to be approved for an antibody test, LabCorp said.
Test availability has been a point of contention in the COVID-19 discussion since the pandemic began spreading throughout the U.S. and around the world. In addition to accuracy problems reported with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s early COVID-19 test, access to testing has been limited as local and federal officials have scrambled for supplies needed to safely and accurately gather patient samples.
According to a recent report by NPR and the Harvard Global Health Institute, as many as 41 states were still not conducting an adequate number of tests to begin relaxing social distancing guidelines.
