Earlier today, the Department of Health announced additional counties who’s facilities/providers will be eligible to receive antigen test kits provided by the federal government and distributed by the state. (See press release below.) The Department will also be updating what facilities accepted the tests in weeks 1 &2. Please keep in mind tests can only be distributed to those with a CLIA Certificate. 

Last Week (Week 2):

• The federal government provided 191,000 Abbott BinaxNOW cards for state distribution.
• The counties who received tests: Berks, Huntington, Westmoreland and Union.
• A list of distributions can be found on the Department of Health’s Coronavirus Symptoms & Testingwebpage under the Antigen Tests subheading. 

This Week (Week 3):

• The federal government provided approximately 231,000 Abbott BinaxNOW cards for state distribution 
• Counties to receive tests this week include: Blair, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Tioga, Venango, and Wyoming.

Next Week (Week 4):

• The federal government will provide approximately 73,600 Abbott BinaxNOW cards for state distribution. 
• Counties expected to receive tests next week include: Elk, Lawrence, Mifflin, and Philadelphia. 
• Given its size, Philadelphia will likely receive an allotment in both weeks 4 and 5. Tests will be given to the Philadelphia Department of Health for further distribution in their jurisdiction. 

Previous Weeks:

• Archived lists of distributions since week one can be found on the Department of Health’s Coronavirus Symptoms & Testing webpage under the Antigen Tests subheading. Additional tests will be provided to healthcare providers in those counties in the coming weeks.

All results of antigen tests are required, by Secretary’s Order, to be reported to the Department.  For additional information a Pennsylvania Health Alert Network notification was sent to providers. PAHAN-531provides guidance to facilities on how to report.  For facilities that have received tests the attached PAHAN-532 provides clinical guidance on what an antigen test is and how it differs from PCR testing, best practices for sites conducting these tests, when POC antigen testing should be considered, and circumstances that should be considered when interpreting antigen test results. A public fact sheet is also available.