Nevada among last states to add rapid tests to virus tally

By SAM METZ
AP / Report for America

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada this week became one of the last states to include rapid antigen tests in its coronavirus tallies. Experts say the change could provide a fuller picture of the pandemic but also upend metrics used to gauge how the virus is spreading. Health officials say they weren’t added earlier because their limited resources and staff had focused on vaccines and contact tracing confirmed cases. Nevada and Maryland were the last two holdouts that didn’t publicly report antigen tests in defiance of federal guidance. Worries about the supply of rapid tests and varied ways that states report them reflects the continued absence of a national testing strategy.