The Story:
The trajectory of the Covid-19 outbreak may change drastically as testing methods change. Ideally, people (at any income level) who are concerned about their own flu-like symptoms should be in a position to test themselves, as easily as one takes one’s own temperature, to get at least a first approximation to a diagnosis, before deciding to consult with a professional. New technologies are emerging that will make that possible over time.
Significance:
Through July at least, the only way for most people to get themselves tested for Covid in the US has been to go to a designated facility. This often involved waiting in your car in a long line, before reaching some drive-through window. You would then give the administrator your contact information, and in turn receive the results, days or even weeks later.
This has been a scattershot and very inefficient system, unsatisfactory both from an individual and from a public health point of view.
In Pill Form:
One of the great advances in the month of August was a shift toward self-administered approaches to testing. This is bearing fruit, and some knowledgeable physicians foresee the mass marketing of tests within 2021 that will be designed for easy at-home use and that will cost as little as $1 per application.
