Scientists at Britain's Oxford University have developed a "simple, extremely rapid, and cost-effective" antigen test that accurately identifies COVID-19 in less than five minutes, Oxford physics professor Achilles Kapanidis said Thursday. Oxford said it hopes to start developing the test for commercial use in early 2021, with expected approval six months later. A quick and accurate COVID-19 test could allow for bulk testing at places like airports, colleges, and businesses.
Public health officials expect at least one COVID-19 vaccine to be widely available by next summer. But the coronavirus will likely remain a public health concern for at least another year, and having an rapid test that "can reliably distinguish between different viruses in clinical samples" should offer "a crucial advantage in the next phase of the pandemic," said Dr Nicole Robb at Warwick Medical School, especially in winter months when COVID-19 is mixed in "with other seasonal respiratory viruses."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
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.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks groundSpeed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resignsSpeed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homesSpeed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bidSpeed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detenteSpeed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe feesSpeed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
-
Reddit IPO values social media site at $6.4 billionSpeed Read The company makes its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange
-
Housing costs: the root of US economic malaise?speed read Many voters are troubled by the housing affordability crisis
-
Feds cap credit card late fees at $8speed read The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule to save households an estimated $10 billion a year
