After the federal government threatened to take action against the state, Nevada in October rescinded its statewide order suspending antigen testing pending further evaluation.
The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services had issued the directive following anecdotal reports of false positives. A small survey subsequently found that 60% of available specimens confirmed by more sensitive RT-PCR tests had indeed produced inaccurate results.
The directive specifically referred to the Quidel Sofia, and Becton, Dickinson and Company’s (BD) Veritor rapid antigen, or point-of-care (POC) tests. The federal government shipped Quidel and BD devices and an initial supply of tests to nursing homes nationwide starting in September.
Health representatives from other states, specifically Connecticut, Arkansas, New Jersey, Wisconsin and Minnesota and Oregon, subsequently expressed skepticism about the reliability of the POC tests. LeadingAge in October continued to recommend its members use the tests as directed.
From the November 2020 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
