SCOTT COUNTY, Iowa — The Scott County Health Department started providing take-home COVID test kits on Friday.
This new option is an extension of the mass vaccination sites at North Point Mall that closed in July.
“This is just a great option. It's pain free. It's a spit test. It's just as accurate and it doesn't cost anything," said Lori Steiner, Scott County Heal Department Clinical Services Manager.
You can pick up a test kit from the health department or have one mailed to you. The kit comes with instructions on how to complete the test and a pre-labeled return stamp.
After the test is mailed to a hygienic lab, results are returned between 24 and 48 hours.
“COVID is still with us and people need to take precaution" said Janet Hill, Rock Island County Health Department Chief Operating Officer. "It does not look good right now.”
On the Illinois side, Rock Island County Health Department reported 28 new COVID-19 cases Monday and has only reached 52% vaccination rates for ages 12 and up.
“Resources are focused on getting people vaccinated. So testing is not being done at the state level as readily available," said Hill.
People in Illinois will now have to get tested through a doctors office or with a physician at a drug store. But, the county does not recommend the BinaxNow test sold in drug stores.
“We are a little bit leery of that because we don't believe that those results are being reported to the state. So it could be a higher level of people who are tested positive and actually are reporting that," said Hill.
Both health departments have shifted their focus to vaccines and say the best course of action is prevention.
“It's more important to get vaccinated and to have the test kit," said Steiner.