Faster Coronavirus Test Results Coming With FDA Policy Change

(Bloomberg Law) -- Labs don’t have to send the CDC samples of their coronavirus test results anymore to get confirmation of positive cases thanks to an FDA policy change effective as of yesterday.

The change is expected to “reduce the number of tests that need to be used per patient,” Stephen Hahn, leader of the Food and Drug Administration, tweeted this morning, because the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention won’t have to use another test to confirm results from a different lab. The change will also cut down the turnaround time between getting tested and getting results back because labs have the authority to confirm positive coronavirus cases on their own now.

Doctors around the country have been complaining about long wait times—sometimes up to a week—to get test results back. This is the Trump administration’s latest effort to speed up testing around the country and stem the outbreak of the virus.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jacquie Lee in Washington at jlee1@bloomberglaw.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fawn Johnson at fjohnson@bloomberglaw.com; Andrew Childers at achilders@bloomberglaw.com

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