(HealthDay)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the first over-the-counter home sample collection kit for COVID-19, the agency announced yesterday.

The LabCorp Pixel COVID-19 Test Home Collection Kit, authorized for individuals 18 years and older, allows for self-collection of a nasal swab at home that can then be sent for testing at LabCorp. Users then receive their test results via a phone call from their health care provider or by email or online portal, depending on whether the results are positive, negative, or invalid.

The use of a home sample collection kit allows users to “access information about their COVID-19 infection status that could aid with determining if self-isolation (quarantine) is appropriate and to assist with health care decisions after discussion with a health care professional,” the FDA notes.

“While many home collection kits can be prescribed with a simple online questionnaire, this newly authorized direct-to-consumer collection kit removes that step from the process, allowing anyone to collect their sample and send it to the lab for processing,” Jeff Shuren, M.D., J.D., director of the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in an agency news release.

Source: Read Full Article