New York Times: Andrew Brooks, Who Developed a Coronavirus Spit Test, Dies at 51. “Andrew Brooks, a research professor at Rutgers University who developed the first saliva test for the coronavirus, died on Jan. 23 in Manhattan. He was 51. The cause was a heart attack, his sister, Janet Green, said.”
Washington Post: China rolls out anal swab coronavirus test, saying it’s more accurate than throat method. “Chinese state media outlets introduced the new protocol in recent days, prompting widespread discussion and some outrage. Some Chinese doctors say the science is there. Recovering patients, they say, have continued to test positive through samples from the lower digestive tract days after nasal and throat swabs came back negative. Yet for many, it seemed a step too far in government intrusions after a year and counting of a dignity-eroding pandemic.”
Stars and Stripes: Coffee, noodles and coronavirus tests: Japanese vending machines sell test kits during the pandemic. “Vending machines on almost any street corner in Japan sell everything from sodas to ice cream and warm noodles. Now consumers in Tokyo and a neighboring prefecture can find machines vending coronavirus test kits.”
Sitejabber: Coronavirus Test Kits: Compare Price, Type, and More. “How much is a COVID-19 test? Depending on the COVID-19 test kit, there is a wide range in price from $30 to $180. Use our table below to compare prices of each. Also, before ordering your kit, check payment options. Typically, testing companies accept HSA and FSA payments. Companies can also provide you with an itemized bill that you may be able to submit for reimbursement to your health insurance plan.”
NBC News: Georgia state lawmaker removed from House chamber after refusing Covid test. “A Georgia state lawmaker said his refusal to take a Covid-19 test got him kicked out of the House chambers on Tuesday. But Georgia House Speaker David Ralston said the lawmaker, Rep. David Clark, has repeatedly refused to follow House policy which states that all members and staff be tested for the coronavirus twice a week.”
Phys .org: Making masks smarter and safer against COVID-19. “A new tool for monitoring COVID-19 may one day be right under your nose. Researchers at the University of California San Diego are developing a color-changing test strip that can be stuck on a mask and used to detect SARS-CoV-2 in a user’s breath or saliva.”
University of Florida: Smell Tests Evaluated As Potential Tool To Identify COVID-19 (UF MBI News). “A team of University of Florida neuroscientists will analyze two different smell tests under a National Institutes of Health grant aimed at developing inexpensive, at-home tests to help identify new cases of COVID-19 and provide a warning sign of a community outbreak in time to thwart it.”
New York Times: New At-Home Covid Test Gets Green Light From F.D.A.. “People as young as 2 years old are cleared to use the test, which takes just 15 to 20 minutes to deliver a result. Unlike many similar products, which are only supposed to be used by people with symptoms of Covid-19, this test is authorized for people with or without symptoms.”
BBC: Covid: Rapid tests ‘useful public health tool’. “Rapid tests for coronavirus are a ‘useful’ public health tool despite only picking up half as much virus as tests done in a lab, a group of scientists has said. The 30-minute test has been criticised for how it measures up to the tests processed in the government’s mega-labs. But the scientists cautioned against comparing them directly.”
University of Florida: Smell tests evaluated as potential tool to identify COVID-19. “A team of University of Florida neuroscientists will analyze two different smell tests under a new National Institutes of Health grant aimed at developing inexpensive, at-home tests to help identify new cases of COVID-19 and provide a warning sign of a community outbreak in time to thwart it.”
CNN: FDA authorizes first over-the-counter, non-prescription Covid-19 test system for home use. “The US Food and Drug Administration has granted an emergency use authorization for the first non-prescription, over-the-counter Covid-19 test kit for at-home use. The LabCorp Pixel COVID-19 Test Home Collection Kit allows anyone 18 and older to buy the kit and collect nasal swab samples at home, the FDA said in a news release Wednesday. The samples are then sent to a LabCorp facility for testing.”
NPR: Think Health Care Workers Are Tested Often For The Coronavirus? Think Again. “In a recent roundtable with Joe Biden, nurse Mary Turner told the president-elect something he found surprising: ‘Do you know that I have not been tested yet?’ said Turner, who is president of the Minnesota Nurses Association. ‘And I have been on the front lines of the ICU since February.’ ‘You’re kidding me!’ Biden replied. She wasn’t kidding.”
CNET: Google offers free weekly COVID-19 tests to US employees. “The coronavirus tests are available through BioIQ, an Atlanta-based health care vendor that Google is partnering with to distribute the kits. Full-time staff and interns can take two tests a week. For now the program is open to Google’s 90,000 US employees, but the company plans to expand it globally next year, a spokesman said.”
Wall Street Journal: A Rapid Covid Test That’s Also Accurate? The NFL Says It Has One. “The NFL’s rapid PCR test, developed by Mesa, has been tested on a selection of league personnel across five teams, who also submitted their usual samples for standard PCR tests. The 917 tests using both methods each produced 27 positive samples and 890 negative samples, a perfect match. The league used the rapid PCR test to clear the Ravens and Steelers to play on Wednesday, and it’s the type of development these companies hope could have broad public health implications soon beyond football—possibly helping airlines, schools and more safely return to a semblance of normalcy.”
University of Vermont: Plante & Colleagues’ Study Details First AI Tool to Help Labs Rule-Out COVID-19. “Hospital-based laboratories and doctors at the front line of the COVID-19 pandemic might soon add artificial intelligence to their testing toolkit. A recent study conducted with collaborators from the University of Vermont and Cedars-Sinai describes the performance of South Burlington, Vt.-based Biocogniv’s new AI-COVID™ software. The team found high accuracy in predicting the probability of COVID-19 infection using routine blood tests, which can help hospitals reduce the number of patients referred for scarce PCR testing.”
