Coronavirus News: Long Island company gets COVID-19 antibody blood test approved by FDA
HAUPPAUGE, Long Island (WABC) -- A company on Long Island is making huge advances in the world of testing and developed a finger-prick test that can determine COVID-19 antibody results in 15 minutes.
The test by Chembio Diagnostics got FDA approval on Wednesday.
The company already makes tests for malaria and HIV, but three months ago, they turned their attention to coronavirus.
And now the FDA has granted approval for the blood test that takes just 15 minutes and tells you not only if you have coronavirus, but if you had it in the past.
Now the company will make millions of the tests. Last year they produced 20 million HIV units at their Medford facility, but the capacity is being switched over for coronavirus testing.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says massive testing is crucial to getting people back to work.
Chembio plans to hire about 100 people in manufacturing and quality control and engineering to support the expansion.
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