HHS reports how initial states plan to use rapid COVID-19 tests

The Department of Health and Human Services yesterday released initial data on how states and territories plan to use their share of 100 million rapid point-of-care tests for the COVID-19 virus, which the agency began distributing last month.

The initial data includes 32 states and the District of Columbia. The Food and Drug Administration in August authorized laboratories certified to perform moderate, high or waived complexity tests under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment to use the Abbot BinaxNOW antigen test to detect SARS-CoV-2 in nasal swabs from individuals whose health care provider suspects they have COVID-19 within seven days of symptom onset.