Director of the National Institutes for Health Dr. Francis Collins: “The average test delay is too long… And that really undercuts the value of the testing.”
As cases continue to surge, experts are sounding the alarm about the Trump administration’s failure to develop a centralized testing strategy that can accommodate growing demand and warning that backlogs will have major implications for the outbreak.
National Institutes for Health Director Dr. Francis Collins yesterday warned, “The average test delay is too long… And that really undercuts the value of the testing, because you do the testing to find out who’s carrying the virus and then quickly get them isolated so they don’t spread it around.”
The United States currently leads the world in coronavirus infections and deaths. But amid a worsening crisis, President Trump continues to deny the importance of testing — pushing back on request from his own party to ramp up funding to expand testing efforts and hampering the nation’s ability to contain the pandemic.
Across the Country, Americans Are Facing Massive Delays in Receiving Test Results
Labs Are Struggling To Turn Test Results Around In Under Seven Days.
- “Quest Diagnostics said this week the average turnaround time for non-priority patients was 7 days or more… The laboratory giant warned it won’t be able to deliver COVID-19 test results faster as long as cases continue to rapidly escalate. The situation is ‘complex and not easily fixed’ and affects the entire laboratory industry, Quest said in a statement.” [USA Today, 7/18/20]
People In Arizona Are Experiencing 26 Day Wait Times To Get Back Coronavirus Test Results.
- “The average wait time for a non-priority patient receiving results on a coronavirus test in Arizona is now seven days, though some, like graduate student Elliot Truslow, are forced to wait nearly a month to hear whether they have the virus as cases balloon in the hard-hit state. ‘People are dying,’ Truslow told CBS News’ Mola Lenghi. ‘The availability of thousands of tests is insignificant without the availability of prompt test results.’ Truslow, who studies at the University of Arizona, said they waited 26 days to get their COVID-19 test results. They were tested in mid-June at a local CVS Pharmacy after attending a Black Lives Matter rally. Truslow called the nearly month-long wait ‘unacceptable.’” [CBS News, 7/15/20]
Even People Outside Of Current Hotspots Are Waiting Weeks For Results.
- “The nationwide surge in coronavirus cases has throttled testing turnaround times not only in hot spots, but in places that haven’t seen a dramatic spike in infections recently — including the greater Washington area… In D.C., Virginia, and Maryland, some patients who have been told their tests would take a few days are waiting two weeks or longer to get results, erasing the chance to do meaningful contact tracing and leaving them in limbo.” [Washington Post, 7/19/20]
Experts Agree That the Lack of a Centralized Federal Testing Strategy Exacerbated Backlogs.
Former Health Commissioner For Baltimore And The State Of Maryland Dr. Josh Sharfstein: “It’s The Failure Of A Federal Strategy That Led Us To This Point.”
- “Dr. Josh Sharfstein, a former health commissioner for Baltimore and the state of Maryland, said commercial and federal insurance programs could penalize labs that didn’t produce results within 48 hours or pay extra if they do, he said. ‘It’s the failure of a federal strategy that led us to his point,’ said Sharfstein, a professor and vice dean at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. ‘Financial incentives would help to get more tests done quickly. Additional funding to guarantee the market would also help to grow capacity for testing over time.’” [USA Today, 7/18/20]
Epidemiologist Brian Castrucci: Shifting Testing Responsibility To States Is “The Worst Misuse Of Federalism Ever.”
- “Epidemiologist and former state and city health department official Brian Castrucci calls shifting testing responsibility to states the ‘worst misuse of federalism ever’ and ‘a national leadership disaster.’ ‘When you look at that (in some places), everyone who wants a test can get a test, was that the right thing to do?’ said Castrucci, CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation. ‘Did we take any steps to prepare to do that? This could have been forecasted. This was never an ‘if’ but a when.’” [USA Today, 7/18/20]
Blair Holladay, CEO of American Society for Clinical Pathology: “It’s the Wild, Wild West… There’s Been No National Testing Strategy.”
- “’It’s the Wild, Wild West,’ says Blair Holladay, CEO of American Society for Clinical Pathology. ‘There’s been no national testing strategy … so states are duking it out for supply chains. That’s a problem.’ …The absence of a national testing plans means there’s little federal coordination to steer pivotal supplies to regions where the virus is thriving, Holladay said. New York labs once busy with the pandemic’s initial surge months ago are now well equipped, while some labs in the Southeast and Southwest cannot turn around tests quickly enough. Labs In New York can likely finish tests in 12 hours, Holladay said, while labs elsewhere report results can take more than a week.” [USA Today, 7/18/20]
Testing Delays Cloud the True Spread of the Virus and Risk Worsening Pandemic.
Johns Hopkins Public Health Expert Crystal R. Watson On Testing Delays: “It Makes Contact Tracing Almost Useless. By The Time A Person Is Getting Results, They Already Have Symptoms, Their Contacts May Already Have Symptoms And Have Gone On To Infect Others.”
- “The long testing turnaround times are making it impossible for the United States to replicate the central strategy used by other countries to effectively contain the virus — test, trace and isolate. Like catching any killer, speed is of the essence when it comes to the coronavirus. ‘Instead of going from one step to the next, it’s like you’re already stumbling right out of the gate,’ said Crystal R. Watson, a public health expert at Johns Hopkins University. “It makes contact tracing almost useless. By the time a person is getting results, they already have symptoms, their contacts may already have symptoms and have gone on to infect others.” [Washington Post, 7/12/20]
Pamela Martinez, An Expert In Disease Dynamics At The Harvard T.H. Chan School Of Public Health: “It’s Very Important For People To Be Able To Get The Results In Time, So They Don’t Continue Infecting People.”
- “‘It’s very important for people to be able to get the results in time, so they don’t continue infecting people,’ said Pamela Martinez, an expert in disease dynamics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. That has become increasingly essential, Dr. Martinez added, as mounting evidence has indicated that the virus can spread from people who don’t have symptoms. ‘Maybe if I take a test, but I don’t have many symptoms, I’m not going to take the same precautions,’ she said.” [New York Times, 7/19/20]