BREAKING: Utah Dept. of Health temporarily halting use of rapid COVID-19 tests at state-operated sites after inconsistent results
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Health will temporarily pause the use of rapid antigen tests at state-operated COVID-19 testing sites starting Monday.The department announced the freeze Sunday, but said these sites will offer at-home tests for"anyone who receives a PCR test but may also want to receive results faster."
"Among people who tested positive by PCR, more than half of them tested negative by GenBody rapid antigen test; this was true even for people who reported COVID-like symptoms," the department wrote in a press release."While rapid antigen tests are known to be less likely to identify a positive individual, the difference identified in this analysis was higher than expected," the health department's statement continued.
“Within the past few weeks, UDOH mobile test teams began using the GenBody rapid antigen test. These teams reported a trend of higher-than-expected negative results from this specific rapid antigen test. This prompted our analysis across a broader timeline and the results motivated our decision to temporarily pause the use of this test” said Dr. Leisha Nolen, UDOH state epidemiologist. “This step is necessary to ensure people receive accurate test results.
The health department says there is a nationwide shortage of BinaxNow tests and the state's access to these tests is limited. But they say rapid antigen tests may become available at state sites when the supply chain"stabilizes."
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