This California company has a better version of a simpler, faster Covid-19 test

As some parts of the U.S. face weekslong delays in getting Covid-19 test results back, one California company seems to have a test that produce results in one to three days. The technique, called LAMP, is being championed by the company Color Genomics. LAMP relies on fewer materials and equipment than the common PCR tests that are being used elsewhere, but experts say that results are not always as sensitive or accurate as those from PCR tests. But Color Genomics says it has solved these problems, running up to 1,000 tests daily and already the company is responsible for almost half of the daily tests being done in San Francisco. STAT's Kate Sheridan has more here.

Here's what else is happening with Covid-19:

The House subcommittee tasked with overseeing the response to the coronavirus outbreak is holding a hearing today to consider how to safely reopen schools. The topic has proven contentious in recent weeks as the school year has already begun in some states and others look anxiously to the fall term. Today's event will feature former education secretary Arne Duncan, a Johns Hopkins public health expert, as well as school officials from Florida and Arizona.
The American College of Physicians — a national organization of 163,000 internists — is calling for the MCAT to be waived for this year's admissions cycle for medical school. As I've reported before, there have been calls in recent months to waive the test or at least move it online instead of solely in-person — and some premed students have claimed they contracted Covid-19 after going to a testing center. "The ACP is concerned that mandatory MCAT testing in the midst of the current public health emergency will increase disparities in career opportunity among people of color and those of lower socioeconomic status," the statement says.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is planning on returning $101 million in insurance premiums and rebates that have gone unused as a result of the pandemic. “Since many elective procedures and routine visits have been deferred during the pandemic, our medical costs during the second quarter were lower than we originally anticipated,” CEO Andrew Dreyfus said in a statement.