Covid-19 tests used by NY schools likely to miss cases of Covid-19 in kids – Buffalo News

The other 100 million tests were to be sent to the states, each of which would decide how to allocate them.

We hope you will use them in ways to further open up your states by protecting vulnerable people, President Trump wrote in a letter to governors in September.

For example, we all want our children to be physically back in school, so we are encouraged that many States are considering prioritizing these tests to support in-person education by testing teachers, aides and administrators, particularly those at high risk.

New York has received about 4 million BinaxNOW tests, Montag said.

In addition to schools, the state has distributed the tests to local health departments, health care providers, pharmacies, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, she said, but declined to specify the number of tests that have been allocated to each of those groups.

Since mid-November, New York has distributed 363,000 of the tests to schools, she said.

Many other states also are sending some of their BinaxNOW tests to schools. But some are using the tests only for students and staff who have symptoms of Covid-19.

South Carolina, for example, is using the tests only for students and staff who develop symptoms while theyre at school. The state noted online that the tests are most accurate when, and are intended for, use for symptomatic individuals.

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Covid-19 tests used by NY schools likely to miss cases of Covid-19 in kids - Buffalo News