Nearly 200,000 COVID-19 Home Tests Recalled Over False Positives

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 6, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Almost 200,000 Ellume COVID-19 home testing kits have been recalled because they may be more likely to give a false-positive result.

The problem with the rapid antigen tests was identified in mid-September and was caused by variations in the quality of one of the raw materials used in the products, Ellume CEO Sean Parsons, M.D., told The New York Times.

The Ellume test kits received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last December, and the Australian company had already shipped about 3.5 million of the test kits to the United States. About 427,000 of those kits were affected by the problem, and about half have already been used, returning about 42,000 positive results, Parsons told The Times. He said it would be difficult to determine how many of those positive results may have been incorrect, but he said the rate could be as high as one-quarter. The issue with the recalled test kits does not affect the reliability of negative results, according to the company.

The company said it has asked retailers to stop selling the recalled kits and has notified consumers about the issue. Consumers should go to the Ellume website to see if their home test kit is included in the recall and to get instructions on what to do if it is, the company said.

On Monday, a new at-home antigen test from ACON Laboratories was approved for emergency use by the FDA. That approval "is expected to double rapid at-home testing capacity in the U.S. over the next several weeks," Jeffrey Shuren, M.D., who directs the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement. "By year's end, the manufacturer plans to produce more than 100 million tests per month, and this number will rise to 200 million per month by February 2022."

"Since March 2020, the FDA has authorized more than 400 COVID-19 tests and sample collection devices, including authorizations for rapid, OTC at-home tests," Shuren added. "The FDA considers at-home COVID-19 diagnostic tests to be a high priority and we have continued to prioritize their review given their public health importance."

The New York Times Article

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