Very, very soon we are going to hear governments talking about living with COVID. Vaccination is easy and free - simply make an appointment with your local doctor or go to a hub.

I had my AstraZeneca jab just over two weeks ago. The needle itself is painless.

Most people have few after-effects. I felt headachy at about day six. Panadol fixed that.

Life is normal for us here in Wagga, but for how long? One of my grand-daughters returned with Rex from Tasmania after the school holidays.

Temperature was tested in Tasmania, but at no point was she given one of the "instant" tests invented in Australia and widely used overseas.

The Ellume tests are manufactured in Brisbane. Its point of care (POC) test, administered by a health care professional such as a doctor, nurse, or pharmacist, gives accurate results in less than three minutes - surely the answer for truck drivers, plane travellers and for opening up the country.

Ellume manufactures two tests: a test for self-administration at home that takes 15 minutes to give an accurate result, and the POC tests administered by professionals that gives accurate results in three minutes.

Both Ellume tests have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

An application for the Ellume POC three-minute test is being prepared for TGA approval in Australia.

Providers in America use the three-minute POC Ellume test at commercial venues such as stadiums and airports.

The US Government bought the Brisbane factory's first six months' production.

A new American factory being built in Maryland will eventually employ 1500 people, making up to 19 million Ellume test kits a month.

The Maryland factory is part of the US federal government's effort to boost infrastructure and supplies during this pandemic, and prepare for future pandemics.

The US Departments of Defence and Health and Human Services provided Ellume with $231.8 million to accelerate production of the tests.

That was initially for Ellume's self-administered home kit, suitable for ages two-plus years and available for non-prescription home use in the US.

It enables individuals, with and without symptoms, to test for COVID-19 infection in 15 minutes, anywhere.

"The test includes a sterile nasal swab, a dropper, processing fluid, and a Bluetooth connected analyser for use with an app on the user's smartphone. Utilising the dedicated app, the user follows step-by-step instructions to perform the test ... the (swab) is analysed and results are automatically transmitted to the user's smartphone via Bluetooth," the Ellume website says.

No going out to a test centre!

Home results in 15 minutes, highly accurate, animated on-screen instructions, results displayed automatically on-screen - surely great for locked-down Sydney families? Well, no.

In Australia, self-testing of notifiable diseases is illegal.

Health Minister Greg Hunt's spokesperson said that testing for COVID-19 should only be conducted in an accredited pathology laboratory, or by a suitably qualified healthcare professional at the point of care. So home tests in America, but not for us.

Dr Sean Parsons was an intensive care and emergency clinician when he started Ellume.

He created a self-testing device for the flu. It worked. His tuberculosis testing device worked, too.

He says his test for COVID is 96 per cent accurate in detecting the virus.

Now, Ellume's latest point of care test is the game changer: an accurate result in three minutes.

And Mr Hunt, it is administered by a "qualified healthcare professional" - doctor, nurse or pharmacist. But not yet in Australia. Australia could open up with guaranteed COVID safety.

For example, a nurse could administer the three-minute Ellume test to each traveller before they board a plane.

Or test truck drivers, (especially removalists!), entering the depot, aged care workers entering a hospice, essential workers entering a factory.

The Sydney situation is so serious that the three-minute POC tests could be the key to safely reopening our economy. Australian technology has the answer: it's waiting for us in Brisbane.

The government needs to expedite approval.