A Recap on Rapid COVID-19 Tests
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As you probably saw last week, the Trump administration announced a deal with Abbott Laboratories to produce more than 150 million rapid COVID-19 tests, per CNBC. Abbott’s rapid tests cost about $5 to make and take just a few minutes to deliver results without lab equipment. Such antigen tests are not quite as accurate as molecular tests (which are conducted in a lab), and the FDA says that doctors might find it advisable to confirm a positive result with a molecular test.
Here are some more updates on the deployment of rapid tests, which is an important development in the COVID-19 response effort:
- The Trump administration offered more details about the shipments this week, announcing that these rapid tests would start making their way to states in mid-September, according to CNN. Most of these tests are intended to go to first responders and to help schools and daycare facilities reopen.
- The investment has also come with an employment bump, as Abbott Labs brings on new workers to help produce the test, the Daily Herald reports. Around 2,000 employees are needed to help meet demand, and no previous experience is required for jobs that will pay $15 an hour for the day shift and $18 an hour for nights, along with a $2,500 retention bonus.
- Yahoo! Finance reports that another rapid test maker is seeking emergency FDA approval. Roche Holding AG will launch a rapid test in September in Europe and is hoping to get emergency authorization to roll it out in the United States, too.
Related
Manufacturers Unveil Competitiveness Agenda Ahead of Midterm Elections
“Competing to Win” offers a path for bringing the country together around policies, shared values and a unified purpose
Washington, D.C. – Ahead of the midterm elections, the National Association of Manufacturers released its policy roadmap, “Competing to Win,” a comprehensive blueprint featuring immediate solutions for bolstering manufacturers’ competitiveness. It is also a roadmap for policymakers on the laws and regulations needed to strengthen the manufacturing industry in the months and years ahead.
With the country facing rising prices, snarled supply chains and geopolitical turmoil, manufacturers are outlining an actionable competitiveness agenda that Americans across the political spectrum can support. “Competing to Win” includes the policies manufacturers in America will need in place to continue driving the country forward.
“‘Competing to Win’ offers a path for bringing our country together around policies, shared values and a unified purpose,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “The NAM is putting forward a plan filled with ideas that policymakers could pursue immediately, including solutions to urgent problems, such as energy security, immigration reform, supply chain disruptions, the ongoing workforce shortage and more. Manufacturers have shown incredible resilience through difficult times, employing more workers now than before the pandemic, but continued resilience is not guaranteed without the policies that are critical to the state of manufacturing in America.”
The NAM and its members will leverage “Competing to Win” to shape policy debates ahead of the midterm elections, in the remainder of the 117th Congress and at the start of the 118th Congress—including in direct engagement with lawmakers, for grassroots activity, across traditional and digital media and through events in key states and districts as we did following the initial rollout of the roadmap in 2016.
The document focuses on 12 areas of action, and all policies are rooted in the values that have made America exceptional and keep manufacturing strong: free enterprise, competitiveness, individual liberty and equal opportunity.
Learn more about how manufacturers are leading and about the industry’s competitiveness agenda at nam.org/competing-to-win.
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The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12.8 million men and women, contributes $2.77 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 58% of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org
