Prognosis
Millions of Rapid Covid-19 Test Results Risk Going Uncounted
- Widely used Abbott, Quidel tests don’t require prescriptions
- Testing results have been seen as key way to track the virus
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Popular at-home Covid-19 tests from Abbott Laboratories and Quidel Corp., available without a prescription, were launched without a mechanism for reporting results to health officials, potentially leaving many cases uncounted by authorities as the delta variant spreads around the U.S.
How many of the products have been sold in pharmacies and online and used isn’t clear. When Abbott’s BinaxNOW Self Test became available through retail stores in late April, the company said it planned to make at least tens of millions each month. The company last month said a group of Covid tests including BinaxNOW brought in $1 billion in global sales.