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Nevada Lifts Block on Rapid Covid-19 Tests in Nursing Homes

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The state of Nevada withdrew a directive that blocked nursing homes from using federally provided rapid coronavirus testing equipment late on Friday, in response to an order from the Trump administration.

Nevada told nursing homes on Oct. 2 to stop using the rapid-testing equipment, citing concerns about false-positive results. The back and forth highlights a debate over the proper use of the tests after reports of some false positives.

In a letter to state officials, Adm. Brett Giroir, the Department of Health and Human Services official who has overseen U.S. testing efforts, said the state’s action to ban use of the tests was “inconsistent with and preempted by federal law and, as such, must cease immediately or appropriate action will be taken against those involved.” The letter was dated Oct. 8 and made public Friday.

Adm. Giroir defended the performance of the federally supplied equipment on a call Friday with

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Nevada Revokes Halt on Rapid Antigen Testing in Nursing Homes

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A week later, however, Admiral Giroir cracked down on Nevada’s “illegal” prohibition on BD’s and Quidel’s tests, which he said had imperiled the residents and staff of nursing homes across the state. “They cannot supersede the PREP Act,” he said.

The false positives that had emerged, Admiral Giroir said, were not only expected but “actually an outstanding result.” No test is perfect, he said.

In the Nevada statement, Dr. Azzam reaffirmed his concerns with the number of false positives that had arisen. “If this laboratory data discrepancy had been reported to Dr. Giroir, we would hope he would have taken the same action as Nevada,” he said. “We too want more testing with rapid turnaround in Nevada, but the results of those tests must be accurate, as they affect clinical care.”

The state’s nursing facilities can resume use of BD’s and Quidel’s products, according to a new Nevada directive issued

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HOMES 

HHS Testing Czar Rips Nevada for Stopping Rapid Tests in Nursing Homes

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WASHINGTON — Nevada public health officials’ recent actions preventing nursing homes from using rapid screening tests for COVID-19 are “unjustified” and don’t follow the science on testing, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “testing czar” Adm. Brett Giroir, MD, said Friday.

The state’s actions are “not scientifically valid. They must cease their prohibition immediately,” Giroir said on a phone call with reporters. “If you need technical support,” he told the nursing homes, “we are enthusiastic to do more. Lives are at stake and our administration is not going to allow action to risk our seniors or any other vulnerable or underserved population.”

Letter Sent to Nursing Homes

On October 2, the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services sent a letter to healthcare providers and long-term care facilities, noting that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services had sent point-of-care antigen tests to nursing homes across the country —

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HOMES 

Drop ‘unwise, uninformed and unlawful’ ban on rapid testing in nursing homes

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ top testing official said Friday Nevada’s ban on rapid coronavirus tests in nursing homes could “endanger lives” and urged state health officials to immediately reverse course.

Why widespread COVID-19 testing is crucial to fighting the coronavirus pandemic

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Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir said Nevada would face unspecified enforcement actions if state health officials did not remove an order instructing nursing homes to discontinue use of point-of-care antigen testing machines made by two companies, Quidel and Becton, Dickinson.

HHS  “expects immediate action from Nevada to reverse its unwise, uninformed and unlawful unilateral prohibition,” Giroir said Friday in a phone call with reporters. “Lives are at stake and our administration is not going to allow actions to risk our seniors or any other vulnerable or underserved population.”



Brett Giroir wearing a suit and tie: Adm. Brett Giroir, director of U.S. coronavirus diagnostic testing, looks on as he testifies during a House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing on a national plan to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 31, 2020.

© Kevin Dietsch, AFP via Getty Images
Adm. Brett Giroir, director

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Trump Administration Orders Nevada to Allow Rapid Covid-19 Tests in Nursing Homes

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The Trump administration ordered the state of Nevada to withdraw a directive blocking nursing homes from using federally provided rapid coronavirus testing equipment, highlighting a debate over the proper use of the tests after reports of some false-positive results.

In a letter to Nevada officials, Adm. Brett Giroir, the Department of Health and Human Services official who has overseen U.S. testing efforts, said the state’s action is “inconsistent with and pre-empted by federal law and, as such, must cease immediately or appropriate action will be taken against those involved.” The letter was dated Oct. 8 and made public Friday.

Adm. Giroir defended the performance of the federally supplied equipment on a call Friday with reporters, saying the false-positive rate was low and the issue could be managed by using proper procedures to confirm results. The state’s action wasn’t justified, he said. Adm. Giroir declined to say what enforcement action the

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HOMES 

Federal Official Threatens Nevada for Halting Rapid Tests in Nursing Homes

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The leader of the nation’s coronavirus testing efforts condemned Nevada’s health department on Friday for ordering nursing homes to discontinue two brands of government-issued rapid coronavirus tests that the state had found to be inaccurate.

“Bottom line, the recommendations in the Nevada letter are unjustified and not scientifically valid,” Adm. Brett Giroir, an assistant secretary of Health and Human Services, said in a call with reporters on Friday. The state’s actions, he said, were “unwise, uninformed and unlawful” and could provoke unspecified swift punitive action from the federal government if not reversed.

The rapid tests, which were distributed to nursing homes around the country in August by the federal government, were supposed to address the months of delays and equipment shortages that had stymied laboratory-based tests.

“The important issue is to keep seniors safe,” Admiral Giroir said in an interview on Friday. Antigen tests, he added, were “lifesaving instruments” that

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Trump health official blasts Nevada after state ends use of rapid coronavirus tests in nursing homes

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A top official from the Department of Health and Human Services on Friday urged Nevada to reverse its decision to suspend the use of two rapid coronavirus tests in nursing homes, saying there is no “scientific reason” to justify its action.



Brett Giroir wearing a suit and tie: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ADM Brett P. Giroir testifies before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on the Trump Administration's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, June 23, 2020.

© Provided by CNBC
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ADM Brett P. Giroir testifies before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on the Trump Administration’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, June 23, 2020.

Nevada health officials have ordered nursing facilities in the state to immediately suspend the use of two tests, manufactured by companies Quidel and Becton, Dickinson and Co., after the officials said the tests repeatedly delivered false positives.

Nevada officials said 23 out of 39 positive antigen test results from both Quidel and BD were later found by PCR to be negative, according to a directive issued

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HOMES 

Why Nevada halted the use of rapid coronavirus tests in nursing homes

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coronavirus

John Minchillo / AP

In this Wednesday, March 11, 2020 photo, a technician prepares COVID-19 coronavirus patient samples for testing at a laboratory in New York’s Long Island.

By Hillary Davis (contact)

The state health department has ordered Nevada nursing homes to suspend the use of certain rapid COVID-19 tests because of the likelihood of false positives.

According to an Oct. 2 memo from the state Division of Public and Behavioral Health, the rapid antigen tests are showing that they have a high tendency to produce false positives despite earlier statements from the Food and Drug Administration that if they produced any inaccurate results, they would lead to false negatives.

The FDA added that follow-up testing should be done on negatives, not positives.

However, state public health officials issued guidance to the contrary, which led to data showing 60% of a sample of

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HOMES 

Nursing Homes in Nevada Told to Stop Using Rapid Coronavirus Tests

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Here’s what you need to know:

Credit…Julia Rendleman for The New York Times

The coronavirus tests kits are small and fast — they produce results in as a little as 15 minutes — and when they were first distributed to nursing homes around the country in August by the federal government, they were welcomed with open arms.

At last it seemed, there was a solution to the delays and equipment shortages that had stymied efforts to use laboratory-based tests to curb outbreaks.

But now Nevada has ordered its nursing facilities to immediately suspend the use of two of the rapid virus tests after their performance was found to be lacking, according to a directive issued by the state’s department of health.

The order was prompted by a spate of false-positive results, in which the tests

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HOMES 

Nevada halts use of rapid coronavirus tests in nursing homes, citing inaccuracies.

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The coronavirus tests kits are small and fast — they produce results in as a little as 15 minutes — and when they were first distributed to nursing homes around the country in August by the federal government, they were welcomed with open arms.

At last it seemed, there was a solution to the delays and equipment shortages that had stymied efforts to use laboratory-based tests to curb outbreaks.

But now Nevada has ordered its nursing facilities to immediately suspend the use of two of the rapid virus tests after their performance was found to be lacking, according to a directive issued by the state’s department of health.

The order was prompted by a spate of false-positive results, in which the tests mistakenly found that healthy people were infected. The state directed that use of the kits be discontinued “until the accuracy of the tests can be further evaluated,” the

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