Kroger and Gauss Soon to Launch This Rapid iPhone-Assisted COVID-19 Test

As COVID continues to spread, companies are looking for ways to make testing and vaccination easier for the public.

Rather than work alone, this pandemic is bringing together the most unusual collaborators.

In the latest effort, tech companies like Apple, medical companies like Gauss, and retailers like Kroger are working to offer a rapid, at-home antigen test for COVID-19.

FDA Approval

Not everyone who needs a COVID-19 test is getting one. Depending on where you live, tests may be difficult to schedule a testing time and you may have to wait in line. The holy grail of testing with an at-home test like this one from Gauss.

The Gauss COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test provides test results within minutes from the comfort and safety of the user’s home.

The test is ready to roll out and is currently awaiting approval from the FDA.

Once it gets the green light from the government, retailer Kroger will sell it in its 2,200 pharmacies and 220 clinics across the United States.

The Testing Process

The test includes a swabbing kit and requires an iPhone app that walks you through the testing process. Users will follow the step-by-step video instructions to properly collect a sterile nasal sample. The swab is placed into a testing cassette, and the user is instructed to wait 15 minutes for the test results.

After the waiting period is over, the user can then take a picture of the test result using their iPhone camera. The app scans the result and shares this information with the user.

Users also can send the test results to the appropriate public health agencies via a secure and private method.

Production and Availability

Gauss has already produced 1.5 million of these rapid tests and will begin selling them immediately following FDA approval.

Gauss reportedly boasts it will be able to make up to 30 million tests per month when it is operating its production line at full capacity.

Kroger sells other at-home testing kits as well for $99.