COLUMBIA, S.C. — A new way of COVID-19 testing has just been authorized for emergency use by the FDA and all you have to do is breathe.
It’s called the “Inspect IR COVID 19 breathalyzer”, and its testing for COVID. According to Dr. Edwin Hayes from Prisma Health, it detects chemical compounds in your breath, indicating a positive or negative result.
“The breath testing seems to be very effective at ruling out COVID in a low prevalence population," said Dr. Hayes.
He went on to say, “What you are going to see is people doing a breathalyzer test, blowing into a bag that is hooked up into a machine.”
Dr Hayes says results come back in under three minutes and the machine, which is the size of a carry on suitcase, can do 160 tests a day.
“So as long as the numbers are low this test is pretty reliable at ruling out a COVID infection.”
Epidemiologist from MUSC Dr. Scott Curry says these tests aren’t as effective as a PCR or antigen test, so if you test positive, you’d need one of those tests too.
“They will miss COVID infections in eight out of a 100 people," said Dr. Curry.
He went on to say, “They are telling people they you need to confirm a positive with a PCR test.”
“We can’t have a test that misses this many positive cases.”
Dr. Hayes says the tests are expected to be available here by the end of the summer. The test has to undergo another round of review with the FDA to be fully approved. Only licensed facilities can run the testing and is not available for at home use.
