(Mark Pellin, Headline USA) It seems like only yesterday that President Joe Biden was heralding the delivery of scores of at-home COVID swab kits to help ease long lines at testing sites as the omicron variant swept through communities, leaving a trail of high infection rates but relatively mild symptoms for most.
It turns out somebody should have done a better job testing the testing kits.
Some of the kits that Biden had ordered delivered to about 50 million homes might contain a toxic substance that could be harmful to humans, according to USA Today.
“It is important to know that the extraction vial in many rapid antigen kits includes the chemical sodium azide as a preservative agent,” informed Poison Control’s National Capital Poison Center.
“The BinaxNow, BD Veritor, Flowflex, and Celltrion DiaTrust COVID-19 rapid antigen kits all contain this chemical,” Poison Control’s info-portal explained. “Sodium azide is a colorless, tasteless, and odorless powder that has been used as a propellant in automobile airbags, an herbicide, and a pest control agent.”
And Uncle Joe potentially had it delivered to your doorstep.
“People exposed to a small amount of sodium azide by breathing it, absorbing it through their skin, or eating foods that contain it may have some or all of the following symptoms within minutes,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Symptoms from low-dose exposure can include nausea and vomiting, rapid breathing, accelerated heart rate, headache and dizziness, said the CDC. Exposure to larger amounts can cause convulsions, lung injury and respiratory failure leading to death.
While not yet reporting any dire or deadly cases, the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s Drug and Poison Information Center has received a flurry of calls about exposures to the chemical since people started using the at-home testing kits.
“We started getting our first exposures to these test kits around early November,” said Sheila Goertemoeller, pharmacist and clinical toxicologist for the center.
Similar exposures have presented at the Upstate New York Poison Center and West Texas Poison Center, reported USA Today.
Health officials said that the poisoning risk is low when the home tests are used and disposed of properly.
“Fortunately, the amount of sodium azide in most rapid antigen kits is much lower than the amount expected to cause poisoning if swallowed by an adult,” noted Poison Control.
“However, the extraction vials do look like small squeeze bottles or eye droppers. Some people may accidentally confuse them with medications and apply the drops into their eyes or nose, which may cause irritation.”
Poison Control offers the following advice if someone has swallowed sodium azide: do not make the person vomit. For eye exposures, rinse the eyes for 15-20 minutes with warm tap water. For skin exposures, rinse the skin well with tap water. Immediately check the webPOISONCONTROL online tool for guidance or call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Both options are free for the public, and available 24 hours a day. If someone has swallowed part of a rapid antigen test and is choking, call 911 immediately.
