Baker-Polito Administration announced today the distribution of the first round of Abbott BinaxNOW tests from the federal government that has been prioritized for use in K-12 schools providing in-person instruction.175 million tests were procured by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Defense and are being allocated on a per capita basis to states. Phase 1 of this testing initiative will reach 134 public school districts, charter schools and special education schools across the Commonwealth. Guidance was released from the Department of Elementary Education on Monday, November 16th and the tests are expected to be released by December 1st. 

The Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 testing initiative is provided by the federal government and is a no-cost, voluntary program that will allow schools to test symptomatic students and receive test results within 15 minutes.  These tests allow schools to identify infected individuals and their close contacts more quickly to help stop the spread.

Phase 1 is intended for districts and schools providing any type of in-person instruction, including full in-person, hybrid instructional models, or in-person services for high needs students. Districts and schools participating in Phase 1 have already been selected, and those chosen will have to meet six criteria, including the ability to complete DPH reporting requirements and ensure staff who administer the tests are trained. Schools must also obtain parent/guardian consent prior to administering tests to students.

The BinaxNOW Rapid Point of Care testing initiative offers testing in a school setting to students or staff that exhibit any symptoms of an illness consistent with COVID-19 as well as to students or staff who exhibit minimal symptoms (e.g., runny nose, isolated headache, isolated fatigue).

The Abbott BinaxNOW test is a rapid antigen test. Rapid antigen tests perform best when the person is tested in the early stages of infection with SARS-CoV-2, which is when the viral load is generally highest.

School districts seeking more information on the BinaxNOW Rapid Point of Care testing initiative should visit https://www.doe.mass.edu/covid19/

Abbott BinaxNOW Validation Work

In order to test the validity of the Abbott BinaxNOW tests, the Department of Public Health (DPH) recently completed a study to compare the rapid point-of-care Abbott BinaxNOW test to the PCR test, the gold standard for detecting COVID-19.  The Abbott BinaxNOW Ag Card rapid test is a simple, quick, inexpensive test that produces results in approximately 15 minutes.

DPH collaborated with Lawrence General Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, and the Broad Institute to enroll over 1,600 individuals between October 26 and November 12 at the Lawrence Community COVID-19 Testing Center, a state-supported Stop the Spread site. Overall, the BinaxNOW test detected COVID-19 in 82% of participants who tested PCR positive in the study, an encouraging finding that builds the state’s confidence in the accuracy of these new tests.