FORMER US FDA CHIEF SAYS ANTIGEN TEST IS ‘GAME CHANGER’

WASHINGTON: US approval of a new antigen test to rapidly screen people for the coronavirus “is a real game-changer”, said the former head of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The emergency use authorisation - the first ever by the FDA for a Covid-19 antigen test - was granted to San Diego-based Quidel Corp late on Friday.

The move could mark a breakthrough in screening for the virus.

“It’s a very rapid test that could be used in a doctor’s office,” former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CBS. “Doctors have about 40,000 of these Sophia machines installed in their offices”, where they are used to test for strep throat and flu, he said.