The United States will allocate approximately $ 232 million to the Ellume USA LLC company to increase production of a domestic test for Covid-19, the result of which will be known within 15 minutes, a White House official said.
The domestic tests received in December a Emergency permit from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States.
That test, which is done with a nasal swab and is available without a prescription, It can be done at home and the result will be known 15 minutes later via a telephone application. It is 95% accurate.
“It can be used if the person has symptoms of covid-19 and also to detect asymptomatically so they can go to work, school or events,” Andy Slavitt, White House adviser on coronavirus, told reporters.
He added that the Department of Defense and the Department of Health will provide $ 231.8 million to Ellume, who is based in Australia, to increase production of that test.
From this month to July, the company will ship 100,000 test kits per month to the United States, said.
Thanks to the US contribution, Ellume USA will be able to increase test production to more than 19 million by the end of the year. Of that total, 8.5 million goes to the US government.
“The ability to conduct rapid testing, contact detection and quarantine is at the heart of our national strategy and will be an essential part of controlling the virus and stopping its spread in the community,” said Slavitt.