September 21, 2021 – BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (Franklin Lakes, NJ) announced it was selected by the state of Washington as a digitally read, rapid antigen test option for COVID-19 testing and screening in K-12 schools across the state.
The BD Veritor Plus system is a portable, rapid and easy-to-use point-of-care antigen test that detects SARS-CoV-2 — the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 — and provides results in just 15 minutes with a clear and easy-to-read “positive” or “negative” readout on its digital display.
The digital display eliminates human subjectivity of manually read tests. Schools throughout Washington state can use the BD Veritor Plus system free of charge through a partnership with the Washington Department of Health and The Health Commons Project “Learn to Return” school testing program.
Schools that choose to use the BD Veritor Plus system also have a full-service option where Premier Medical Group (PMG), a third-party testing company, plans and executes the school’s testing program so teachers and administrators can focus on teaching, not testing. In this option, PMG will prepare a turn-key solution that includes testing protocol, administration of the tests to students and completion of all required results-reporting to individuals and schools, as well as local, state and federal health officials.
This will be the only rapid (same day results) testing option with staffing support for Washington schools.