A hospital in North Chicago has announced it will begin sending 150,000 newly approved tests for COVID-19 to hospitals across the country.
Abbot Laboratories announced the news on Wednesday, announcing it received authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to identify COVID-19.
“I’m proud of the Abbott team and what they’ve accomplished in such a short period of time.” Abbott Laboratories Chairman and CEO Miles White said, “I’m proud of the Abbot team and what they’ve accomplished in such short period of time.
White also thanked the FDA for their work in making the tests possible. The company is scheduled to provide a million tests a week by the end of the month. The new tests are designed only for Abbot-made machines, processing nearly 500 tests in a 24 hour window.
Abbott also developed the first test for HIV just over 35 years ago.
As of Friday morning, 422 people in Illinois had tested positive for COVID-19. Over 3,000 total tests have been issued.
