The rapid coronavirus test used by the White House may miss nearly half of positive cases, study finds

Abbott Labs test.
(Image credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The rapid coronavirus test used by the White House may not be providing staffers with accurate results, Bloomberg reports.

An unconfirmed study from New York University found that Abbott Laboratories' ID NOW test, whose arrival on the market was the source of great excitement thanks to its ability to deliver results within minutes, missed at least one-third of positive cases detected by rival test Cepheid GeneXpert.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
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.