Unlike a test using a test tube in a lab, the BinaxNow test is a credit-card-sized test easy to use outside a lab.
How can you safely attend the family reunion or your best friend’s wedding during the Coronavirus Era? So many variables to consider. Is it outdoors? How big will the crowd be? The $5 Covid-19 Test just may be of interest to you.
The war on Covid-19 is being fought on many fronts. From early diagnostics to innovative treatments to a vaccine. There is a lot in the works. One product that grabs my attention is a practical diagnostic test that has just been given FDA Emergency Use Authorization. Let’s take a look at it.
What is the big deal?
The $5 Covid-19 Test in 15 minutes is called BinaxNow. It is fast and easy-to-use. This test can help prevent spread of the virus by alerting you of positive results fast. Then, if you get a positive result, you can quarantine yourself to avoid further exposures. It also allows you to trace your contacts to give them a heads up to go for a test.
By knowing of an infection as early as possible, you can not only quarantine to help avoid spreading the virus, but you can then contact your healthcare provider for instructions how to care for yourself. This is a time when being proactive is so much better than being reactive. Early treatment of infections usually net the best results.
So, What Is BinaxNow:
It is inexpensive. $5 Covid-19 Test.
BinaxNow is not a test in a test tube. It is actually a card, which makes it portable or easy to move around. It does not require a laboratory to process. Therefore, it can be given in a healthcare providers office or even a pharmacy. It is about the size of a credit card.
A medical professional must administer it.
BinaxNow detects antigens, which are proteins found on the Covid-19 virus.
Abbots clinical study ( with several leading U.S. research Universities) shows BinaxNow to have 97.1% sensitivity and 98.5% specificity. So, BinaxNow can produce 2.9% false negatives and 1.5% false positives. It is not infallible. Approximately 3 out of 100 tests can produce a false negative meaning you have Covid-19 even though the test said you didn’t. You could unknowingly spread the virus.
According to the Mayo Clinic, this is a risk with this type of test.
Here is How The $5 Covid-19 Test Goes:
Abbott.com explains it best.
- The healthcare worker opens the card and lays it flat on a countertop.
- Extraction reagent is added to the test card, which is about the size of a credit card.
- A nasal swab is taken from the patient.
- A technician inserts the swab into the test card, folds over the cover and in 15 minutes, reads the result.
- People who use the app and receive a negative test result will get a temporary encrypted digital health pass via a QR code (similar to an airline boarding pass) sent to the NAVICA app. The digital pass is renewed each time a person receives a negative test result and includes the date of the latest test result submission. Organizations will be able to view and verify the information on a mobile device to help make entry into these places easier, along with hand-washing, social distancing, enhanced cleaning and mask-wearing.
- Those who test positive will receive a message through the app telling them to quarantine and talk to their doctor.
The Navica app.
The Navica mobile app will be available for both Android and Apple mobile phones at no charge to you. The app will enable you to display the results of the BinaxNow Covid-19 test in situations that require proof of a negative test. Like at the airport before boarding a flight.
The first-of-its-kind app will provide those with a negative test a QR code that serves as a temporary digital health pass. This pass will expire after a interim determined by the organization that accepts it.
Pretty nifty, huh?!
Why I Think The $5 Covid-19 Test Matters.
For public health and wellbeing reasons, the goal is to stop the virus and it’s spread. But, for a person with a weak immune system, such as someone with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), it is even more critical.
First of all, if you know you have Covid-19, you can quarantine yourself and contact your doctor for care instructions. It is better to manage a Cover-19 infection in the early stages for the best outcomes.
Conversely, others can quarantine and prevent exposing you to the virus if they know they have it.
And the fact that it is inexpensive, portable, and fast makes it user-friendly.
According to a CNN report, the U.S. Government has purchased 150 million BinaxNow Covid-19 tests.
Because of this development, testing will be faster, easier, and affordable. This will help you to return to a more “normal” life, whatever that is! Just one more way to care for yourself in the Coronavirus Era.
Another benefit is to lower anxiety levels, which is a good thing. Especially for those of us with autoimmune conditions, because stress and anxiety can trigger flares.
So, when this test hits the market, you can be more confident considering the family gathering or wedding. Go get tested! And suggest to your friends and relatives to do the same!
Don’t forget social distancing and your mask when appropriate!
XXOO
Cathy from Arthritis Wisdom
