CDC: CDC launches website to help consumers find free COVID-19 testing sites . “Tests offered may include laboratory-based nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs), including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, and rapid antigen point-of-care (POC) testing. Results are typically provided within 24–48 hours. Testing is available at pharmacies, commercial laboratory sites, community sites, and retail locations.”
University of Washington: A smartphone’s camera and flash could help people measure blood oxygen levels at home. “In a proof-of-principle study, University of Washington and University of California San Diego researchers have shown that smartphones are capable of detecting blood oxygen saturation levels down to 70%. This is the lowest value that pulse oximeters should be able to measure, as recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The technique involves participants placing their finger over the camera and flash of a smartphone, which uses a deep-learning algorithm to decipher the blood oxygen levels.”
PR Newswire: Arizona State University Launches Evidence Commons, the Only Comprehensive Repository of COVID-19 Tests and Testing Practices Publications (PRESS RELEASE). “Arizona State University (ASU) College of Health Solutions with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, has launched Evidence Commons, the first and only comprehensive repository of published COVID-19 research focused on diagnostic tests and testing practices. With more than 3,000 published papers, Evidence Commons provides access to the diagnostic-related research critical to enhanced scientific collaboration and pandemic mitigation and prevention.”
Penn State: New at-home, saliva-based COVID test as effective as PCR in preliminary analysis. “To bridge the gap between accuracy and convenience, Penn State researchers have developed an at-home, saliva-based testing platform that can provide results in 45 minutes. In preliminary tests, the platform detected the COVID-causing virus with the same level of sensitivity as PCR tests. Their results published this week (Aug. 3) in ACS Sensors.”
11 Alive: FDA posts new expiration dates for some at-home COVID tests. “If you’re planning on using an at-home COVID test, one thing to always consider is the expiration dates. Experts warn that tests used after the expiration date may not provide you with accurate results. But how exactly can you find the expiration dates for FDA-approved at-home testing kits? And is the shelf life the same for different brands of tests?”
UMass Chan Medical School: New research shows value of at-home antigen tests in slowing spread of COVID-19. “Two recent studies supported by the National Institutes of Health Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Tech program demonstrate how widespread distribution of COVID-19 at-home antigen tests can be used as an effective public health strategy to reduce the spread of the disease.”
Deadline: 3 Times More Los Angeles Residents Infected With Covid Than Previously Reported, Says Study. “A new state study suggests the number of people in Los Angeles County who have been infected with Covid-19 during the pandemic is far greater than the number confirmed through standard testing. That’s due largely to the number of people who never developed symptoms and so never got tested, or who couldn’t access tests, L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said today.”
CNN: FDA authorizes first Covid-19 breath test. “The US Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization to the first Covid-19 test that spots chemical compounds associated with the coronavirus in breath, the agency said Thursday.”
NBC News: Incomplete data likely masks a rise in U.S. Covid cases as focus on infection counts fades. “[Zeke] Emanuel and other experts cite a lack of testing as the primary reason cases go underreported. At the height of the omicron wave in January, the U.S. was administering more than 2 million tests per day. That had dropped to an average of about 530,000 as of Monday, the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
CNN: With fewer cases and less demand, many Covid-19 testing sites are shutting down. “As Covid-19 numbers reach pandemic lows across the United States, many Covid-19 testing sites have begun closing their doors. Some testing sites have been open for almost two years, many seeing hundreds or even thousands of people a day. Now, home tests are more readily available, and demand for testing sites is falling.”
Denver Post: Colorado closing 40 state-run COVID-19 testing sites in April. “About one-third of state-run COVID-19 testing sites across Colorado will close in April as the state continues winding down its emergency response to the pandemic. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment announced Wednesday that 40 sites will close, with most listing April 30 as their last day. The remaining 80 sites have the capacity to offer about 26,000 tests per day.”
Straits Times: Shanghai tests 26 million residents in one day under extended lockdown. “Shanghai said it would continue with a lockdown as it reviews results of a massive exercise on Monday (April 4) to test all 26 million of its residents, in China’s largest public health response since the initial days of the pandemic. This is the first time that the city has ordered all residents to be tested since the current outbreak started in early March.”
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: Arkansas Health Department to continue free covid testing for uninsured even without federal help. “Although a federal program is no longer paying for it, the Arkansas Department of Health will continue to provide free coronavirus testing for the uninsured at its local health units around the state, a spokeswoman said. Over the past two years, the Health Department has received $13.4 million from the federal Covid-19 Uninsured Program for providing the tests — more than any other health care provider in the state, according to data from a federal website.”
ABC News: Free COVID-19 tests ending for uninsured Americans. “Americans who don’t have health insurance will now start to see some of the free COVID-19 testing options disappear, even if they are showing symptoms.”
Ars Technica: Swab, test, repeat: A 2nd rapid COVID test more than doubled result accuracy. “To quickly confirm an asymptomatic case of COVID-19, a second rapid test within an hour of a positive result can boost the accuracy of the result from 38 percent to 92 percent, according to a new study in JAMA Network Open.”
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