The state of Nevada pulled federal rapid COVID-19 testing kits because too many of them were returning false positives. The tests also deliver false negatives. Officials said more than half the samples tested later by more precise methods were faulty.
Even so, federal officials said states can’t just stop the testing, as it puts nursing home residents at risk. But, Jeff Engel, senior adviser at the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), said false positives also can put residents at risk when patients are moved to a COVID-19 ward when they’re not infected.
“Then they go and get COVID,” Engel said. “We think there’s a lot more work that needs to be done on accuracy.”
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette said Engel noted that “CSTE has heard about false positives in almost every state, though Nevada is the only state known to have recommended halting the tests.”