With Abbott Labs today announcing a new COVID-19 test capable of producing results in five minutes, we’ve witnessed the remarkable pace of innovation that can be unleashed when government monopolies are torn down.
Here’s a rough timeline since flawed tests were released and the federal government removed the monopoly on kit production:
Feb 5: CDC (only agency authorized to create COVID-19 test kits) releases kits that take 2 – 7 days to process and shortly after discovers they are flawed.
Feb 29: Federal government allows private labs to create tests
Mar 12: Cleveland clinic announces test that takes 8 hours
Mar 21: Cepheid announces test that takes 45 minutes
Mar 24: Mesa Biotech announces test that takes 30 minutes
Mar 27: Abbott Labs announces test that takes 5 minutes
In a matter of weeks, we’ve gone from a slow and flawed test, to one that works and is between 576 times and 2,016 times faster than the one created by an agency with a government monopoly.
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