| One day, you're feeling under the weather. Could it be Covid-19? A test purchased at the local pharmacy or shipped to your house provides an easy answer within 15 minutes. Though that scenario isn't a reality today, it's the direction in which the U.S. is heading, thanks to a series of new regulatory clearances. Over the past month, the Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency authorization to three at-home screenings, all of which can provide reliable results on site in 30 minutes or less, for $25 to $50 each. "These tests are the first of what we anticipate will be many tests that can be performed at home, which is the last technology pillar of our comprehensive national testing strategy," said Brett Giroir, the Trump administration official leading the government's diagnostic efforts.  Abbott's BinaxNOW home test kit. Source: Abbott Laboratories This is a major, much-needed development that should allow sick people to avoid long lines at clinics and help ease the strain on beleaguered urgent-care workers. But for now, there are key caveats around both availability and access. Only one of the new home tests, from the Australian company Ellume, can be bought without a prescription. Ellume and another home-test manufacturer also have limited manufacturing capabilities, especially in the early months after launch. While the third newly authorized test comes from a major manufacturer, Abbott Laboratories, it requires users go through a prescribing service that supervises test administration virtually. And much cheaper price points are needed if everyone is to have ready access, public-health experts say. We're hardly in home-pregnancy test territory yet, but if the past few weeks are any indication, it may soon be within reach.—Emma Court | 
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