INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (ADAMS) – Most people in Indiana are no longer going to be able to get a rapid coronavirus test.
On Tuesday, the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) said it is limiting rapid tests to only people under 18-years-old or people over 50 who have symptoms.
Public health managers say they have been burning through too many rapid tests as people have flooded to see if they have the virus.
The state says it’s been using 50,000 tests a day, even though it only gets 11,000. The age limits started yesterday.
The Indiana Department of Health released the following:
The two-dose Pfizer pediatric and adult vaccines, as well as the two-dose Moderna vaccine, are available. Also effective Tuesday, rapid tests at state and local health department testing sites will only be available to individuals aged 18 and younger and symptomatic individuals aged 50 and older. This change is necessary due to the national shortage of rapid antigen tests and is designed to help ensure that students can stay in school and that Hoosiers who are most likely to need a monoclonal antibody are identified within the prescribed window in which they can be administered.
Indiana typically uses about 50,000 rapid tests per week but is only guaranteed to receive 11,000 a week at this time.
No appointments for rapid tests will be honored at state or local health department sites going forward except for individuals who fall within the above categories.
PCR tests, which are the gold standard, will continue to be offered at all testing sites, with results expected in two to three days.
Click on the testing map at www.coronavirus.in.gov to find a testing location.
Visit ourshot.in.gov to find a vaccination site.
