We wrote about Abbot’s BinaxNOW COVID-19 home test last December when the FDA issued Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA) for BinaxNOW and Ellume Health’s Elllume COVID-19 home tests. BinaxNOW is in the news again for testing outside the home: in this case far away from home when traveling internationally by air. United Airlines and Abbott announced a new program for United passengers who take a BinaxNOW home test kit with them. Passengers can use negative test results to board an international flight back to the U.S.
The Abbott and United collaboration is a direct response to CDC guidelines that allow travelers to use a self-administered rapid antigen test supervised in real-time by a telehealth service. The eMed digital telehealth platform fills this supervision requirement. eMed Certified Guides participate in virtual test session with BinaxNOW users. After users take the test, eMed sends the results. If the COVID-19 test is negative, eMed also issues a digital health pass. The passenger presents the digital health pass to United’s Travel Ready Center platform via Abbott’s NAVICA app, available in iOS and Android. The net result is the passenger is allowed to board the flight back to the U.S.
The convenience of at home or wherever-you-are COVID-19 testing, remote monitoring, and the all-important digital health pass can’t be overstated. United passengers traveling abroad will no longer have to find a testing center during their trip. All they have to do is have the BinaxNOW test in their possession and connect with eMed to self-administer the test. Abbott sells the BinaxNOW for $150 for a pack of 6. The company recommends that users travel with two or more tests in case of inconclusive results.
