Following news that Phosphorus received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its at-home COVID-19 saliva test;

Aliyah Farouk, Medical Device Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:

“As critical shortages of testing supplies and kits still remain a major concern, the increase of at-home sample collection kits are set to add hundreds of thousands of units to testing capacity. GlobalData expects the COVID-19 diagnostic testing landscape to therefore shift as more companies opt to develop at-home tests.

“Direct-to-consumer tests come with many benefits but the reduced risk of exposure to the virus is one of the main attractive selling points. The fear of contracting the virus has discouraged many people from visiting hospitals since the outbreak of the pandemic. Recent results from a GlobalData survey assessing the reluctance to visit the doctor for appointments due to COVID-19 show that 79%* of participants have avoided the doctor at all costs despite having a medical complaint. Therefore, it is likely that the public will favor at-home tests, adding to the overall testing capacity.

“The tests are also affordable with many falling into the Medicare reimbursement range. Although some accuracy concerns have been raised, GlobalData expects the wide availability of these tests coupled with low costs will reduce current testing constraints.”