How do lateral-flow tests for covid-19 work?

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These cheap tests provide results within minutes. They also divide the scientific community

LATERAL-FLOW TESTS, supposedly a cheap and fast way to identify covid-19, have got a bad rap. In September the World Health Organisation said that “very few” had undergone “stringent” regulatory procedures. In a mass-testing pilot at the end of 2020 in Liverpool, in north-west England, antigen tests made by Innova Medical Group, an American company, missed 60% of asymptomatic cases—they were detected by more complicated polymerase-chain-reaction tests instead.

Two big advantages of lateral-flow tests are their speed and simplicity. They provide results within ten to 30 minutes, and can be easily performed outside a laboratory, unlike PCR tests, which look for the virus’s entire genetic sequence rather than its antigens. They are also cheaper than PCR tests. According to an analysis by, a consumer publication, a private PCR test in Britain costs on average £120 , compared with around half that for a private lateral-flow test.

 

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