Cepheid Chief Medical Officer David Persing says the test should primarily be used in emergency rooms and hospitals, not in doctors’ offices.. Cepheid is a unit of Danaher, a Washington, D.C.-based medical conglomerate.
The Cepheid test doesn’t require a nasal swab, a medicinal necessity in short supply, and added that a “nasal aspirate” or nasal wash specimens. Machines that run the new Cepheid tests are already in some healthcare facilities, however, there are only around 5,000 Cepheid systems in use in the U.S.