LANSING, Mich. (WSYM) — Along with the Trump administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is sending 3,000,000 state-of-the-art Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 antigen tests to Michigan.
The Trump Administration has shipped over 210,000 COVID-19 rapid tests to facilities such as nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and to historically black colleges within Michigan.
The tests are efficient enough to diagnose COVID-19 in as little as 15 minutes.
“To facilitate the continued re-opening of Michigan schools, businesses and economy, the Trump Administration has prioritized scaling up the state’s point of care testing capacity by making this $760 million national investment in BinaxNOW tests,” said Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brett Giroir, MD. “Distributing these rapid tests directly to states is consistent with the Trump Administration’s successful, ongoing approach of testing the right person, with the right test at the right time, is working and the effort will continue until the pandemic is under control.”
However, Giroir still encourages people to wash their hands and to socially distance.
The State of Michigan shared they have sent the following in their preliminary feedback:
- 45,000 tests to their long term care facilities
- 12,000 tests to their Department of Corrections
- 80,000 to psychiatric hospitals and also to the National Guard for training purposes
So far, over 873,000 BinaxNOW tests have been shipped to Michigan. Governor Whitmer will be charged with the task of distributing tests across the state.
