Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup July 7, 2020

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: Daily Roundup July 7, 2020

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today continued to take action in the ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic:  Yesterday, the FDA issued a Letter to Clinical Laboratory Staff and Health Care Providers alerting them of an increased risk of a false positive result with BD SARS-CoV-2 Reagents for the BD Max System test. In one study, the manufacturer found approximately three percent (3%) of results were false positive results. The FDA is working with Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) to resolve this issue and will continue to keep clinical laboratory staff, health care providers, manufacturers, and the public informed for new or additional information. The FDA updated the Molecular Diagnostic templates on FDA.gov to provide more detailed recommendations for the validation of assays intended to be used for pooling patient samples. Laboratories and commercial manufacturers may choose to use the Molecular Diagnostic templates to simplify the preparation and submission of an Emergency Use Authorization request for molecular SARS-CoV-2 assays intended for pooling patient samples. FDA is warning consumers and health care professionals that the agency has seen a sharp increase in hand sanitizer products that are labeled to contain ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol) but that have tested positive for methanol contamination. Methanol, or wood alcohol, is a substance that can be toxic when absorbed through the skin as well as life-threatening when ingested. Methanol is not an acceptable active ingredient for hand sanitizers and must not be used due to its toxic effects. FDA is aware of reports of adverse events associated with hand sanitizer products. FDA encourages health care professionals, consumers and patients to report adverse events or quality problems experienced with the use of hand sanitizers to FDA’s MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program. When doing so, they should provide the agency with as much information as possible to identify the product.

As part of the FDA’s effort to protect consumers, the agency issued warning letters to five companies for selling fraudulent COVID-19 products. There are currently no FDA-approved products to prevent or treat COVID-19. Consumers concerned about COVID-19 should consult with their health care provider. The five companies that received warning letters include: SinoTradition.com, which offers traditional Chinese medicine products, including "Lianhua Qingwen Capsules" and "Qing Fei Pai Du Tang," for sale in the United States with false or misleading claims that the products can mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19 in people. Butterfly Expressions, LLC, which offers blessed waters, essential oils, hand sanitizers, homeopathic products, and tinctures for sale in the United States with false or misleading claims that the products can mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19 in people. Lotus Herbal Supplements, which offers traditional Chinese medicine products, including “Lianhua Qingwen Capsules,” for sale in the United States with false or misleading claims that the products can mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19 in people. Lianhuaqingwencaps.com, offers traditional Chinese medicine products, including “Lianhua Qingwen,” for sale in the United States with false or misleading claims that the products can mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19 in people. Shen Clinic, LLC, which offers traditional Chinese medicine products, including “SHUANG HUANG LIAN,” for sale in the United States with false or misleading claims that the products can mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19 in people. Testing updates: To date, the FDA has currently authorized 166 tests under EUAs; these include 138 molecular tests, 26 antibody tests, and 2 antigen tests.