But sputtering supply chains have compromised efforts to collect, ship and process samples for PCR, driving delays in turnaround times. The at-home arena is where antigen tests could shine, Dr. Mina said. They’d act as bouncers at the entrances to schools or workplaces, and allow Americans to check themselves at home for the coronavirus several times a week, perhaps even daily. But achieving that reality would require an antigen test that is not yet approved for widespread use, and the infrastructure to manufacture it en masse. All of them also rely on swabs to collect test samples, and three require somewhat bulky and expensive machines to read out results.

Source: New York Times September 06, 2020 12:00 UTC