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Food and Drug Administration authorizes new coronavirus test

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

FILE - This Aug. 2, 2018, file photo shows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration building behind FDA logos at a bus stop on the agency's campus in Silver Spring, Md. U.S. regulators have approved a new type of coronavirus test that administration officials have touted as a key to opening up the country. The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday, May 9, 2020, announced emergency authorization for antigen tests developed by Quidel Corp. of San Diego. The test can rapidly detect fragments of virus proteins in samples collected from swabs inside the nasal cavity, the FDA said in a statement. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

By: Anthony Wright, 23ABC

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The Food and Drug Administration is granting emergency authorization for a new coronavirus test.

The FDA says it will allow the Quidel Corporation to produce antigen tests for COVID-19. The test looks for pieces of the virus, unlike current tests that search for its genetic material.

Antigen tests might not be as reliable as existing assessments but their components could be easier to find. Right now The FDA is limiting the antigen tests to authorized labs and centers.

Eventually, the method could help diagnose more people with COVID-19.

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Food and Drug Administration authorizes new coronavirus test

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