SPOKANE, Wash — Washington state will soon receive and distribute hundreds of thousands of rapid COVID-19 test kits from the federal government.
The state Department of Health said it will deploy the first batch of 149,000 Abbott BinaxNOW antigen test kits within the next five to 10 days. Washington state anticipates receiving nearly 2.3 million total tests between now and December.
The rapid tests work best and are approved for people with coronavirus symptoms, the DOH said. This first batch will be distributed to community health centers, tribal clinics and critical access hospitals across the state.
A plan for distribution of future shipments is in development, according to the DOH.
KREM 2 reached out to the Spokane Regional Health District to see if the county would be getting any of the tests.
In a statement, SRHD Spokesperson Kelli Hawkins said, "I have learned that we do not yet know where the tests are being sent or what the distribution plan looks like. We are unable to comment on the receipt of the tests until we have more details from DOH."
The first distribution of 149,000 kits, along with the benefit of rapid results, will increase access to diagnostic testing for Washington residents and particularly for priority populations. That will help people with symptoms get quicker results and assist everyone in tracking COVID-19, and stopping additional transmission and illness.
The federal government is in the process of distributing millions of BinaxNOW tests to the states.
Details about distribution of future shipments will be available soon.
