![]() ![]() Consumers need to have the proper information so they can decide whether to take a rapid or PCR test, as well as to make informed decisions when choosing a testing provider that can meet their needs.” LabQ and all other labs should ensure that they are giving consumers accurate information about when to expect test results. “LabQ’s own website states, ‘Turnaround Time Matters,’ but so does being honest with consumers. “With the Omicron wave hitting in the middle of the holiday season, New Yorkers need timely COVID-19 test results more than ever to make decisions about whether they can safely travel or gather with loved ones,” said Attorney General James. The letter notifies LabQ that New York law prohibits false advertising and instructs the company to immediately update its signage at testing sites and on the company’s website to accurately reflect how long individuals can expect to wait before receiving COVID-19 test results. NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James, late yesterday, issued a warning letter to LabQ Diagnostics, a Brooklyn-based laboratory with dozens of mobile locations across New York City, after learning that some consumers have been waiting over 96 hours for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) test results, even though the company advertises that consumers can expect results within 48 hours. FDA doesn't have a path for "good enough accurate but cheap and fast", which is what you want for a public health tool.Consumers Complaining of Waiting More Than 96 Hours forĬOVID-19 Test Results Despite Lab’s Promise of 48-Hour Turnaround (I think Rutgers had a spit-on-paper version of a rapid test that was definitely less accurate than those drug store antigen tests, but, hey even if it's at 80%, it would have been a paper strip that you can spit on and get a result in 5 minutes 80% reduction in transmission is at least as good as a 2-dose vaccine right now, given Omicron) and it's possible they will never be as accurate as PCR. This increases costs and delays production, etc. One FDA hold up is that the rapid tests aren't as accurate as PCR, but they get slotted into the "medical diagnostic" path, so regulators are telling the rapid test developers to make them more accurate. One problem, as I understand it, is that FDA is bureaucratically configured to approve drugs and medical devices, but there's no great path for "good enough" public health tools like rapid tests. I think this is more of an FDA problem: they haven't approved very many rapid tests, so there's no market competition. And they should be cheaper: in the UK, they give them out for free, and someone quipped that it would be easier and cheaper to book a flight to London, stuff your luggage with free UK tests, and fly back. So, yes, those are good tests, but there are limitations and you have to use them for the right situations. ![]() They should be cheaper and more plentiful to get to their full potential. They should be thought of as a public health tool, not a medical diagnostic, because they will give you a pretty accurate go/no-go social signal about whether you should go out and meet other people. The rapid tests are cheap and fast, so you can use them whenever you expect to mingle with other people (like a wedding, or going to in-person school). They're also very expensive and take a long time to process, which limits their use. The problem is that they don't do a great job of telling you if you're infectious people can be positive on PCR for weeks afterwards, because your body's immune system is up and running and still blasting away any latent virus it finds, and the PCR is picking up the non-infectious pieces of the virus from this. The problem is that PCR tests are basically medical diagnostics: they will tell the doctor if you've have been infected by COVID anytime in the past few weeks. The LabQ tests are PCR tests, which are super accurate. Mina is one of their more public proponents. Google for "Michael Mina rapid test" for more info Dr. They're actually very good for the purpose of telling you if you're infectious (around 95% accuracy for that). The tests they sell in drug stores are rapid antigen tests (also called lateral flow tests). ![]()
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