Another urgent need for accurate RAT testing is to enable...

Another urgent need for accurate RAT testing is to enable doctors to prescribe the new treatments that we have stockpiled (Molnupiravir, Paxlovid + ritonavir combo, monoclonal antibody therapy). These are expensive and work best when given early to at-risk patients ie obese + comorbidities, COPD etc. Unless sensitive and accurate POC diagnosis is available, the window of maximal efficacy for these drugs will go by.
Until then, governments will continue to view vaccination rates as the best line of defense. The strategy seems to have evolved into acquisition of herd immunity using the milder Omicron variant as the inoculant.