Idaho Schools to Get Rapid COVID-19 Tests Firsts, State Preps for Vaccine
BOISE, Idaho (KLIX)-Idaho schools will be the first to get 530,000 rapid antigen tests to screen for COVID-19 while the state prepares for vaccine distribution this winter.
On Thursday Gov. Brad Little announced the state received the Abbott BinaxNOW rapid tests that claim to be inexpensive, simple to administer, and 95 percent accurate, with a 15 minute or less to produce results.
Gov. Little said the new test is a game changer for students and teachers so they can quickly get back to school knowing they don't have COVID-19. An initial 35,000 tests were shipped Thursday to area public health districts to be distributed to local schools, more will be sent out in the next three months.
Also on Thursday, the governor said he directed the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to form a new Idaho COVID-19 Vaccine Advisory Committee to help prioritize the distribution of a viable vaccine in the state when the federal government begins the process, possibly by January. It is very likely that health care workers will be some of the first to receive the vaccine, however that decision has not been finalized according to the governor.
Idaho plans to submit a plan to the federal government by October 16.