Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that there is no scope for rest as his government works to make India’s dreams come true and fulfill its pledge.

“I meet many people who tell me, ‘India is now the fifth largest economy in the world, so many milestones have been achieved, reforms implemented, then why are you working so hard?,” Modi said addressing the NDTV World Summit.

“In the last 10 years, 12 crore toilets have been built, and 16 crore homes have gas connections… is this enough? My answer is no. This is not enough. Today India is among the youngest countries in the world. This youth potential can take us to the skies,” Modi said at the event.

Modi was sworn in as Prime Minister for the record third time along with 71 cabinet ministers in June this year. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 held in February to April this year.

No rest, no relaxation: PM Modi

“The dreams we have seen, the pledge we have made, there is no rest, no relaxation,” Modi said at the summit.

“There’s a tradition that every government compares its work with that of the previous government. We used to walk this path too, but from now on we can’t compare the past and the present and be happy with it. The metric of success from now on would be ‘What we want to achieve’. India now has a forward-looking approach. The vision for a developed India by 2047 is a part of this mindset,” he said as per NDTV report.

The metric of success from now on would be ‘What we want to achieve’.

Modi said India emerged as a beacon of hope as the developments in the last five years had become a cause for global concern. These, he said, include the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in the disruption of economies, price rise and unemployment, followed by wars in Ukraine and West Asia.

“In India, we are discussing the India Century. India is the ray of hope amid the global crisis. There are challenges in front of India but we feel a sense of positivity here,” Modi said.

What parents need to know about COVID, flu vaccines

The Food and Drug Administration is making it easier for people to simultaneously test themselves for COVID-19 and the flu at home. 

The agency this week authorized the Healgen Scientific’s Rapid Check COVID-19/Flu A&B Antigen Test for home use without a prescription. While other at-home combination tests that can detect both COVID-19 and influenza already exist, they are currently available only under emergency-use authorization. 

The Healgen test is the first combined home COVID and flu test authorized to be marketed outside emergency use. 

“As we enter this year’s annual flu season with respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19 on many of our minds, our ability to detect these pathogens effectively and efficiently can be impactful on our daily lives,” Dr. Michelle Tarver, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement on Monday. “Today’s authorization expands the options for individuals with respiratory symptoms to receive information about their health from the comfort of their home.” 

Similar to other virus test kits on the market, the Healgen product entails using a nasal swab sample to detect if it shows the presence of proteins from SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) or influenza A and B (the two most common flu strains). At-home test results for both COVID-19 and flu appear in approximately 15 minutes, according to the FDA. 

The Healgen test is for self-use by individuals 14 years or older, or for young children aged 2 years and older when administered by an adult. Based on an FDA analysis, the test correctly identified 99% of negative and 92% of positive SARS-CoV-2 samples; 99.9% of negative Flu A and B samples; and 92.5% and 90.5% of positive Flu A and Flu B samples, respectively. 

“As with all rapid antigen tests, which generally have lower sensitivity than molecular tests, there is a risk of false negative test results,” the FDA stated, adding that individuals with ongoing symptoms should follow up with a health care provider.

Anne Marie Lee

Anne Marie D. Lee is an editor for CBS MoneyWatch. She writes about topics including personal finance, the workplace, travel and social media.

While none of the free COVID-19 tests being shipped by the U.S. Postal Service this year will have already expired, officials acknowledge many now arriving in mailboxes will likely see their shelf life run out in a few months. 

So far this season, around 20 million of the 32 million tests ordered through COVIDTests.gov have been shipped. All are supposed to have a shelf life of at least two months, according to the federal Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response or ASPR.

“We’re getting to tests probably that we’ve had in inventory longer because, as we were purchasing, we had a spike in receiving and now we’re not purchasing as much. We’re a little bit further past the peak of COVID,” Arlene Joyner, director of ASPR’s Industrial Based Management and Supply Chain Office, told CBS News.

Joyner’s office oversaw purchasing and delivery of the 12 brands of tests that COVIDTests.gov has supplied over its seven rounds to date.

“The purpose of that program is really to have people utilizing these tests now, the fall through the winter, because we know that’s the season where people most get sick, especially with respiratory illnesses, and they’re preparing for family gatherings,” she said.

ASPR has always used a “first-in-first-out” approach, Joyner said, setting aside the oldest — but still usable — tests to ship out first. The same also applies to 7 million tests sent each week to places like food banks and libraries.

“That is to avoid inventory that is stagnant and sits on the shelf. It’s no use if it’s there. And the worst is if it expires, and then we end up having to discard it,” Joyner said.

Many kits were also purchased earlier during the pandemic, at a time before many manufacturers could prove to the Food and Drug Administration that their tests actually had longer shelf lives. 

This is why over-the-counter tests often have expiration dates that have been extended by the FDA, indicating they’re still good to use long after the initial dates initially printed on their labels.

ASPR uses databases to track its stockpiles of tests across seven warehouses, Joyner said, to avoid shipping tests that are too old.

“Our system is pretty robust. We’re pretty confident that they should not be receiving anything that is lower than the dating that we’re expecting,” she said.

Manufacturers of the most accurate home COVID-19 tests on the market say they were left out again from the Biden administration’s latest round of free orders through COVIDTests.gov, which for a seventh time will rely on less sensitive “antigen” tests, which are generally the cheaper options available on drugstore shelves.

Federal health officials have justified the millions they have spent on device manufacturers for the latest waves as critical to subsidizing U.S. factories capable of producing tests ahead of another potential pandemic, during a time when demand has evaporated. 

Taxpayer dollars have flowed largely towards manufacturers of inexpensive rapid antigen tests like Access Bio in New Jersey and iHealth in California, instead of more accurate “molecular” alternatives that the Food and Drug Administration has also greenlighted.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response said all the tests being distributed “meet sensitivity and specificity requirements established by the FDA.”

“ASPR has prioritized procuring tests that are affordable, accurate, and manufactured domestically,” the spokesperson said.

What are the most accurate home tests for COVID-19?

The FDA currently has granted authorization to only four over-the-counter molecular test brands for COVID-19, which are the most accurate but also most expensive options:

• Lucira by Pfizer sells a single-use test that has the cheapest up-front cost, starting at $39.99, which detects both COVID-19 as well as influenza. The FDA says results take around 30 minutes and the shelf life of each test lasts 18 months. 
• Aptitude Medical Systems sells a “starter bundle” which comes with a reusable reader and two test kits for $99.97. The FDA says results take around 30 minutes and the shelf life of the tests last around 18 months. Additional test kits cost $24.99.
• 3EO Health sells a “starter kit” that comes with a reusable testing device and two swabs for $195. The FDA says results take around 30 minutes and the shelf life of the tests last four months. Additional swabs and “test keys” cost $39.90 for a two-pack.
• Cue Health sells a reusable “reader” that costs $199. Test kits are currently out of stock on the company’s website. The FDA says results take around 20 minutes and the shelf life of the tests last around four months. 

These prices are many times higher than antigen testing options, though device manufacturers say COVID-19 tests are generally eligible for flexible spending account or health savings account dollars and could be reimbursable under some health insurance plans.

Results from using a molecular test take longer because the devices need to create chemical reactions to amplify any traces of the virus that might be otherwise missed by less accurate tests.

That translates to an advertised sensitivity — their accuracy in correctly spotting infections — up to more than 90%, even when people do not have symptoms from the virus. 

By contrast, the FDA warns that Americans relying on antigen tests should be prepared to use up multiple kits if they worry they might be infected.

Since antigen options have a higher risk of producing a false negative result, especially early during an infection, the agency says people should continue to repeat their testing over several days after their first negative test.

This difference is important early during a course of a COVID-19 infection, when the CDC says people tend to be most contagious. The highest amount of infectious virus is detected from patients “within a few days before and after” symptoms begin.

The CDC says in its latest guidance that testing negative on antigen tests can still be a useful “option” for helping to judge when it is safer to stop isolating at the tail end of an infection, offering a “rough approximation of whether a person is still infectious” to others.

What brands of antigen tests are being shipped by COVIDTests.gov?

COVID-19 antigen test manufacturers told CBS News that they are still delivering kits to the federal government through awards in previous years by ASPR, including additional contracts last year to a dozen manufacturers. 

Test kits are also being distributed “directly to health centers, long-term care facilities, food banks, other community hubs,” an ASPR spokesperson said. 

Of those brands, a handful have been able to earn the FDA’s “traditional marketing authorization” to continue to sell their tests in the wake of the pandemic as emergency authorities wind down, including:

• CorDx sells two-packs for $14.99 that offers results in 10 minutes
• iHealth Labs sells two-packs for $17.98 that offers results in 15 minutes
• InBios International sells two-packs for $8.50 that offers results in 20 minutes
• Quidel Corporation sells two-packs for $16.99 that offers results in 10 minutes

Other tests remain under emergency use authorization, including OraSure’s InteliSwab kit. That “more accessible” test is being shipped through the Administration for Community Living again this year for free to Americans who are blind or who have low vision.

While less accurate than molecular tests, ASPR says their antigen tests this year will continue to be able to “detect the currently circulating COVID-19 variants.”