US company's 15-minute coronavirus blood test is being used in China, Italy and Japan - but it is NOT used in America because CDC and FDA officials have not approved it

A North Carolina-based company says its 15-minute blood test is already being widely used by the Chinese CDC, helping officials there to diagnose more patients, faster

On Thursday March 05,2020, that company, BioMedomics, announced its 'quick and easy' test is ready and being used in South Korea,Japan,Italy and some countries in the Middle East. 

But the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved the test under the emergency measure it announced Saturday Feb 29,2020

Performing this test requires taking throat and nasal swabs from patients - a rather unpleasant, uncomfortable process for patient and health care worker alike - and testing those samples for reactions that indicate they contain the genetic material of COVID-19

Swabs might be gross, but they're the simplest part of the process

 

These types of test are considered the gold-standard for diagnosing infections diseases, but they involve multiple components, which are notoriously complex, they have to be run by specially trained technicians, using specialized equipments.