Nearly 12 million rapid coronavirus tests are being sent to California by the federal government to assist in slowing the spread of COVID-19.
The 11,900,000 state-of-the-art Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 point of care antigen tests could prove to be key in safely opening schools and other sectors of the economy, providing results in as little as 15 minutes and far more comfortable for those being tested than the current kits.
"You literally put six drops of fluid, turn the swab in this, close the cart and wait 15 minutes," said Admiral Brett Giroir, Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Trump Administration and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. "If you see one pink line, you’re negative, two pink lines you’re positive."
He told KCBS Radio the U.S. and the world are at a critical juncture heading into fall with new coronavirus cases once again on the rise.
"They’re rising about 20% week-to-week," he said. "We are seeing hospitalizations go up. That makes us believe that the case numbers are truly real. Now, we still have hospitalizations far below where we were in July, but they are going up."
Giroir said that tests like this will be critical for safely opening schools for both students and teachers.
"If little Johnny has the sniffles and a cough, what do you do? You can send him for a COVID test and everybody home for three days and try to reassemble, but with this you can test little Johnny right there on the spot. So you know whether Johnny is negative and you can continue having the children in school or whether you need to do isolation and contact tracing."
Among the number of lessons learned during the months-long pandemic, Giroir believes one of the most pressing being that the country’s supply chain for medical supplies simply isn’t where it needs to be.
He added that, regardless of who the next president is, the country needs to take a hard look at how it can better prepare for future disease response.
Watch the full interview below.