Cue Health COVID-19 test
The Cue Health molecular COVID test includes a nasal swab, test cartridge and cartridge reader for home use. (Image from Cue Health)

The FDA today issued its first emergency use authorization for a molecular COVID-19 diagnostic test for at-home use without a prescription.

The Cue Health COVID-19 Test for Home and Over The Counter (OTC) use is a molecular nucleic acid amplification test designed to detect genetic material from the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the nostrils.

The authorized test includes a single-use Cue COVID-19 test cartridge, a single-use nasal swab and the Cue cartridge reader (used by the Cue Health monitoring system, provided separately). The reusable, battery-operated cartridge reader runs the Cue test cartridge and communicates results directly to the customer’s Cue Health smartphone app in about 20 minutes.

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