The FDA expedited the approval of a rapid coronavirus test

Stephen Hahn and Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Things continue to move at a breakneck pace in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

In the latest major development, which is largely being heralded as promising news, the Food and Drug Administration on Friday night approved the first "point-of-care" coronavirus test which can reportedly relay results in just 45 minutes, likely making it one of the fastest tests available. The FDA granted California company Cepheid an "emergency use authorization" for the rapid molecular test.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.