On Jan. 26, 2021, Abbott announced it had received CE Mark for two new uses of its Panbioﾙ COVID-19 Ag Rapid Test Device for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus: asymptomatic testing and self-swabbing.

Panbio COVID-19 Ag’s label wasn updated with clinical data on asymptomatic individuals, which enabled mass testing of people who do not currently present symptoms of the disease. According to a study published in JAMA,2 at least 50% of COVID-19 infections are estimated to have originated from exposure to asymptomatic individuals.