The South Dakota Department of Health has begun operations to promptly and efficiently distribute one million Flowflex® COVID-19 Antigen home tests to sites across the state. The first batch of 187,500 FDA-authorized tests kits arrived in Pierre, were sorted and shipped to destinations both East and West River, prioritizing long-term care facilities statewide.
“We are delivering on the promise made by Governor Noem to get a free COVID-19 test in the hands of any citizen that wants one,” said Joan Adam, Interim Health Secretary. “Making access to testing fast and convenient is key in fighting back against COVID-19.”
On January 7, 2022, Governor Noem announced that the SD-DOH had procured an additional one million Flowflex® COVID-19 Antigen home tests to be distributed free of charge to state residents. These tests complement test kits by Vault Health® which have been available for over a year through the Department’s website.
Flowflex® COVID-19 antigen tests can be done at home in as little as 15 minutes using the provided step-by-step instruction guide included in each test kit. These antigen tests are reliable, and if you receive a positive result, you do not need confirmation through your healthcare provider. The Department encourages residents that test positive to follow CDC isolation guidance.
The SD-DOH expects the complete order of one million tests to be available in such places as courthouses, airports, schools, pharmacies, among other sites, over the next two weeks, if no further supply chain delays occur. As a reminder, those wishing to travel internationally and/or who must show proof of a PCR laboratory negative test, can still request a Vault Health® at-home test here.
For courtesy photographs of the tests arriving at a DOH facility, see attachments. For more information and the latest resources, visit doh.sd.gov/covid/.