Rapid COVID-19 diagnostic test approved by FDA

Posted: Mar 21, 2020 / 05:41 PM CDT / Updated: Mar 21, 2020 / 05:41 PM CDT

FILE – In this Wednesday, March 11, 2020 file photo, a technician prepares COVID-19 coronavirus patient samples for testing at a laboratory in New York’s Long Island. Wide scale testing is a critical part of tracking and containing infectious diseases. But the U.S. effort has been plagued by a series of missteps, including accuracy problems with the test kits the CDC sent to other labs and bureaucratic hurdles that slowed the entrance of large, private sector labs. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

(WEHT)- A new diagnostic test that claims to detect COVID-19 within 45 minutes has been approved by FDA.

The California-based company that produced it says it can begin shipping the tests next week. Clinicians say the faster testing can alleviate pressure on hospital resources. Some patients have complained it took them days to get results on COVID-19 tests.

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(This story was originally published on March 21, 2020)