Coronavirus Watch: Company recalls home test kits over false positive concerns

An Australian company is recalling hundreds of thousands of home COVID-19 tests after discovering some delivered higher-than-anticipated false positive results. 

Ellume became the first company to gain U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorization to sell consumers kits at major retailers such as Walmart, CVS, Target and Amazon. The kits don't require a prescription and deliver results in minutes.

But the company discovered false positive results at higher rates than the its  clinical studies showed. Ellume was then able to isolate the cause to a specific batch.

Customers can check the lot number on the test's carton to see if it is among the recalled lots listed at ellumecovidtest.com/return. Or customers can call 1-888-807-1501 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday. Read more here.

It's Wednesday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the USA TODAY Network. Here's more news you need to know.

• Children make up only 22% of the U.S. population but account for 27% of COVID-19 cases nationwide, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported this week.
• The U.S. Department of Education sent a letter to Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran on Monday asking why his agency hasn't submitted a plan for $7 billion in federal COVID-19 aid for local schools.
• Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey's programs that reward school districts for not imposing COVID-19 related mandates violate federal rules, and Treasury officials warned Tuesday that they may claw back federal stimulus dollars unless the state makes changes.
• New Jersey's largest health care system, Hackensack Meridian Health, said Tuesday that more than 99% of its 36,000 employees are either fully vaccinated or have received their first of two shots — the largest example so far of the effectiveness of employer vaccine requirements in the state.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 43.9 million COVID-19 cases and 70,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 235 million cases and more than 4.8 million deaths. About 65% of people in the U.S. have received at least one vaccine shot, and about 56% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Among U.S. adults, 78% have received at least one shot, and about 67% are fully vaccinated.

Tracking the pandemic: See the numbers in your area here. See where cases are rising here. See vaccination rates here. And here, compare vaccinations rates worldwide and see which countries are using which vaccines.

– Grace Hauck, USA TODAY breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck