Coronavirus update: Rapid $5 test called ‘game-changer’ after emergency approval. Get the latest.
Abbott Labs got emergency approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for its rapid antigen test, which can detect a Covid-19 infection in 15 minutes.
The test is a “game changer,” according to Brett Giroir, the US assistant secretary for health in the Department of Health and Human Services.
Investors sure think so: Abbott’s stock was up about 8% Thursday morning.
The FDA’s emergency use authorization is for Abbott’s BinaxNOW Covid-19 Ag Card. The size of a credit card, BinaxNOW will cost $5 and will come with a free mobile app that will let people who test negative display a temporary, date-stamped health pass that is renewed each time a new test is taken.
Here’s an update on all developments. Scroll or swipe further for in-depth coverage.
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows are expected to hold a call later Thursday on coronavirus relief legislation, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
- Just over 1 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that the coronavirus outbreak continues to threaten jobs even as the housing market, auto sales and other segments of the economy rebound from a springtime collapse.
- The U.S. economy shrank at an alarming annual rate of 31.7% during the April-June quarter as it struggled under the weight of the viral pandemic, the government estimated Thursday. It was the sharpest quarterly drop on record.
- The Federal Reserve announced a significant change Thursday in how it manages interest rates by saying it plans to keep rates near zero even after inflation has exceeded the Fed’s 2% target level.
- Americans rank dead last — by a long way — among citizens of more than a dozen countries who were asked whether their nation is more united now than it was before the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey released Thursday.
- The virus is actively circulating in about 20% of France’s regions and masks will now be required for everyone in Paris — but the government is determined to reopen schools next week, get workers back on the job and kick off the Tour de France cycling race on Saturday.
- The Justice Department on Wednesday sent letters to the governors of New York and three other Democratic-led states, seeking data on whether they violated federal law by ordering public nursing homes to accept recovering COVID-19 patients from hospitals.
- Sean Penn has expanded his fight against the coronavirus beyond his own expectations. The Oscar winner’s disaster relief organization CORE has gone from providing 6,500 tests in a couple weeks to administering more than 1.3 million within a five-month span.
For more summaries and full reports, please select from the articles below. Scroll further for the latest numbers and charts on the virus.
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