Department of Health prioritizing state’s supply of COVID tests for schools, colleges, universities

The Ohio Department of Health says it will prioritize the state’s supply of COVID-19 tests to help testing for K-12 schools, colleges and universities.

ODH has made proctored rapid Abbott BinaxNow at-home antigen tests and over-the-counter self-administered tests available and free to Ohioans at local health departments, public libraries, schools, and other locations.

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This month, ODH ordered 1.2 million proctored testing kits. So far, the state has received and distributed 400,000 kits. The remaining 800,000 kits have been delayed by the manufacturer.

Officials anticipate receiving shipments of the kits later this month and plan to first distributed to meet the needs of K-12 schools, colleges and universities.

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After the needs of schools are met, ODH said available tests will be sent to libraries and local health departments.

ODH officials said the state will continue to purchase and distribute tests to make testing as accessible as possible. They also said the overall demand for testing across the state is exceptionally high, as Ohio has had a seven-day average of mare than 94,000 tests per day.

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