The DxTerity Covid-19 Saliva-at-Home Collection Kit, which received an emergency permit from the Food and Drug Administration last month, appears to be the only home coronavirus test available on Amazon. The kit is currently available in a single package that costs $ 110 and in a 10-pack for $ 1,000.
The kits are not new, but according to DxTerity, the version is the first saliva test to receive this FDA authorization for symptomatic and asymptomatic tests. The kit from DxTerity contains an empty saliva tube to be sent to a Los Angeles laboratory with a prepaid shipment, and the time for results is between 24 and 72 hours after the sample is received, according to the description of the kit on Amazon.
In many places, Covid-19 tests are available for free or at a low cost. But some consumers may be willing to pay a premium for the convenience of a home set.
And while a saliva test can produce accurate results, A molecular test using a nasal swab is usually the best option, said dr. Robert H. Shmerling, senior editor of Harvard Health Publishing, told Julia Chatterley, CNN. Nose swabs have less false negatives than other diagnostic tests or samples of throat swabs or saliva, he said.
DxTerity says its saliva test kits are already being used by more than 130 corporate partners in the U.S., including Fortune 500 businesses and pharmaceutical organizations, the company said. But the ability for consumers to buy the kit on Amazon is new.
“We want to expand access to customers at home and small businesses,” Bob Terbrueggen, Ph.D., founder and CEO of DxTerity, said in a press release from the company, adding that Amazon is the perfect partner for “expanding access to millions of American citizens. customers. “