NC, 6 other states buying millions of coronavirus tests. Here’s how the tests are different.
North Carolina will purchase 500,000 rapid antigen tests for the coronavirus, which are capable of delivering results within 15 minutes, as part of a compact with at least six other states.
The six states, led by Maryland, announced their agreement Tuesday. North Carolina joined the effort after its initial announcement, becoming the seventh state to join in collaboration with Rockefeller Foundation.
“Testing is key to slowing the spread of COVID-19, and I’m proud to work with other governors on this plan to help expand testing in North Carolina,” Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement. “We will continue staying focused on solutions that help us protect North Carolinians from this virus.”
Antigen tests are not as sensitive as molecular tests done in labs, but they are faster and less expensive, according to the Mayo Clinic. And like those tests, they show if someone is infected, unlike antibody tests that show if they have been infected in the past, according to Science magazine. They could provide much quicker results than the molecular tests, while also being prone to more false positives or false negatives.
North Carolina has done more than 1.8 million tests since the coronavirus pandemic reached the state in March. But state officials have complained in recent weeks about expanding wait times for results due to problems getting key chemicals needed to run the tests.
Long delays in getting results, Cooper said, make it hard to do contact tracing.
“We wish there had been a better federal testing strategy,” Cooper said during an appearance on CNN on Tuesday night. “In North Carolina, we worked very hard to get testing out. But we find problems with supply chains. We find problems with personal protective equipment.”
“So, as governors, we’ve had to step up and do the job. We’ve done that in North Carolina and now we’re bonding with other states here to try to use our collective power to do this.”
In addition to Maryland, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio and Virginia have joined the compact. Each state has agreed to purchase 500,000 of the rapid antigen tests. They are in discussions with Becton Dickinson and Quidel, U.S. manufacturers of antigen tests that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement.
“This interstate cooperative purchasing agreement will provide a unique platform to purchase tests and associated supplies in a sustainable and cost-effective manner,” Hogan’s release says.
Cooper’s office, in response to questions about how much the tests would cost, how quickly they would get to the state and where they would be deployed, said the effort was in its “early stages” and that state leaders were working together to “leverage their collective purchasing power to rein in costs and bring stability to the supply chain.”
“We hope to announce additional details on this effort soon,” Cooper spokesperson Dory MacMillan said in an email to The News & Observer.
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This story was originally published August 5, 2020 at 10:46 AM.
