Quest coronavirus test becomes 1st with FDA OK for sample pooling

A Quest Diagnostics coronavirus test is the first authorized by FDA for sample pooling, a method meant to screen more people using fewer resources, the agency announced Saturday. The product OK'd for use with the technique, Quest's SARS-CoV-2 rRT-PCR test, first got emergency use authorization by FDA on March 17. The company said it will begin leveraging the method at labs near Washington, D.C. and Boston by the end of this week, planning to expand it to other sites later. Although the pooling technique may help stretch testing resources, 'it is not a magic bullet,' Quest's chief medical officer Jay Wohlgemuth said in a statement Saturday, adding that 'testing times will continue to be strained as long as soaring COVID-19 test demand outpaces capacity.'