NEW YORK – OraSure Technologies announced on Wednesday it has been selected by the US Department of Health and Human Services to provide COVID-19 school testing. The firm will now supply its InteliSwab COVID-19 Rapid Test to schools nationwide.
The testing will be funded as part of OraSure's $205.2 million procurement contract from the US Defense Logistics Agency. The contract was secured in September of last year and stipulated procurement of 20.6 million test kits.
The HHS program provides school districts with at-home COVID-19 test kits to be sent home with students, teachers, and staff.
"Keeping children in school is a top priority and our InteliSwab tests will help make that happen for students across the nation as they complete this school year, move through the summer, and start back again in the fall," Lisa Nibauer, OraSure's president of diagnostics, said in a statement.
OraSure's Emergency Use Authorized rapid SARS-CoV-2 antigen test requires a lower nostril swab and provides results directly on the swab stick in 30 minutes. It is authorized for use in children as young as 2 years old. OraSure noted in a statement that it has demonstrated overall accuracy of 93 percent using the InteliSwab test in a pediatric population.