COLUMBUS, Ohio — During his press conference on Thursday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced a new partnership that is set to make millions of at-home COVID-19 rapid antigen tests available across the state.
The state has partnered with Abbot and eMed in a $50 million investment, funded by the CARES Act, to purchase at least two million BinaxNOW COVID-19 rapid antigen tests that deliver results in about 15 minutes, DeWine said.
Ohioans who use the rapid at-home tests can be guided online by a proctor and will receive their results within minutes without having to visit a testing location.
“This new agreement allows communities to more aggressively test for COVID-19 than at any other time during this pandemic,” DeWine said.
Those taking the tests will be able to log onto eMed’s platform and be connected to the proctor, who will walk them through how to properly administer the test beginning to end to ensure the most accurate results possible.
According to Abbot, the BinaxNOW test has a “demonstrated sensitivity of 97.1% (positive percent agreement) and specificity of 100% (negative percent agreement) in people seven days or less post-symptom onset."
DeWine did not disclose a date for when to expect the tests to be made available in the state.
