Pharmaceuticals and the politics behind big pharma are confusing. I think everyone would admit that straight from the outset. Big pharma’s success isn’t always driven by their success in research or medical resource production, sometimes it’s just driven by company valuation, share price or regulation. And when the world is dealing with a pandemic such as COVID19, populations become restless with some of the typical excuses for pharmaceutical production company’s holdups in getting important lifesaving game-changers to market.

That is happening right now in the United States with a COVID19 game-changer which may allow for not just domestic but global travel again. The US Federal Government is stockpiling a breakthrough testing method produced by Abbott Laboratories so that they can control the distribution of the new test.

The test, known as BinaxNOW, is a breakthrough in the fight against COVID19 equally because of the method, speed, efficacy and accompanying consumer mobile application, NAVICA.

I’ll quickly digress and explain. BinaxNOW is so important because the test only takes 15 minutes from start to finish and has a 97.1% sensitivity along with a 98.5% specificity. That means that the test is one of the most reliable for COVID19 on the planet right now. A problem which has plagued earlier versions of the COVID19 testing regime.

But the next part is the real game-changer. Abbott Laboratories has also created and executed a full-contact tracing and passport system as a part of the test in an accompanying mobile application. Those who take the test and test negative will receive what Abbott refers to as a temporary “digital health pass” via QR code (identical to an airline boarding pass) which is sent to their own NAVICA mobile application and furthermore compatible with such features as the Apple Wallet. That passport is valid for 24 hours after receiving the test results.

Officials in America have flagged the test and application as the way to by-en-large move back to international travel worldwide with the test being able to get conducted at an airline check-in desk and the passport able to be used at the entry to passport and border control.

This isn’t where the features of the application end though. If a patient receives a positive test, health authorities are notified as well as the patient themselves through the application (and prompted to quarantine). It also allows health officials to track positive cases at airports and testing facilities.

“We intentionally designed the BinaxNOW test and NAVICA app so we could offer a comprehensive testing solution to help Americans feel more confident about their health and lives,” Robert B. Ford, president and CEO of Abbott said on revealing the test.

“BinaxNOW and the NAVICA app give us an affordable, easy-to-use and scalable test, and a digital health tool to help us have a bit more normalcy in our daily lives.”

Abbott Laboratories has also comprehensively outlined the entire process from start to finish on their website allowing potential patients to understand the process prior to receiving the test (which is considered non-invasive). And while we’ve been waiting almost 8 months now for a silver bullet solution to COVID19? Without a vaccine, many medical experts have agreed worldwide that a robust and accurate testing regime is the first step towards normal international and national travel and movement.