If you recently purchased an at-home coronavirus test kit, check the brand, because there's a chance it's part of a huge recall.
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Ellume, an Australian diagnostic products company, has recalled 2 million test kits that were shipped to the U.S. The kits return higher-than-acceptable rates of false positives, so many people using them may believe they have COVID-19 when they do not. Previously, Ellume recalled about 427,000 of the same test kits, but discovered that the problem was more widespread.
Photo credit: U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationThat constitutes a serious recall, according to the FDA. People who use the tests and receive a false positive could receive delayed diagnosis or treatment of their actual illness, or people who don't have the virus could be exposed to people who do, leading to further spreading.
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Many of the affected test kits have been used already, but if you have one, you can determine if it's part of the recall on Ellume's website. If you've recently used an affected kit and received a positive result, the FDA urges you to contact a healthcare provider for a new test to confirm the result.
