Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
How Did Rich Americans Get Tests When There Were Shortages?
Reuters: How One Elite New York Medical Provider Got Its Patients Coronavirus Tests
As U.S. authorities scrambled to ramp up the nation’s capacity to test for coronavirus last week, at least 100 executives and other New Yorkers of means had easy access to testing, according to two sources familiar with the activities of a little-known medical service catering to the affluent. (Irrera and Qing, 3/20)
The Washington Post: VIPs Go To The Head Of The Line For Coronavirus Tests
Actors, politicians and athletes have had quick and easy access to coronavirus tests while other Americans — including front-line health-care workers and those with obvious signs of infection — have been out of luck. The nationwide shortage of coronavirus testing kits has amplified inequities in a health-care system in which some merely call a concierge physician while others hope for attention in crowded emergency rooms. (Eilperin and Golliver, 3/19)
WBUR: While Some Wait For COVID-19 Tests, The Wealthy Cut The Line
While average Americans fret on social media about empty toilet paper aisles, author Nelson Schwartz says the wealthy are installing hospital-grade filtration systems and building safe rooms. The coronavirus has exposed the vast inequalities in our health care system: Rich Americans from movie stars to Instagram influencers are getting access to COVID-19 tests before many sick people showing relevant symptoms. (Young and Hagan, 3/19)
CNN: Boston Celtics' Marcus Smart, Two Lakers Players Test Positive For Coronavirus
Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart says that he has tested positive for coronavirus. "I was tested five days ago and the results came back tonight, which were positive," Smart wrote on Twitter on Thursday. He says he's been self-quarantined since the test. "I've had no symptoms and I feel great," Smart wrote in another tweet. "But the younger generation in our country MUST self distance. This is not a joke. Not doing so is selfish. Together we can beat this, but we must beat it together by being apart for a short while." (Martin, 3/20)
The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Testing Chaos Across America
Feeling sick on Friday, Rachael Willingham went to the doctor, who gave her an order for the new coronavirus test and sent her to a mobile clinic the Colorado health department had set up. When she arrived at 9:45 a.m., a half-dozen police officers were blocking the entrance. She returned to the clinic that afternoon, but was told testing was over for the day. Ms. Willingham called a number for the state health department and was told to come back Saturday at noon. She did, only to find testing had been moved to the Denver Coliseum. When she got to the stadium, she waited in a line of hundreds of cars for almost two hours, only to be turned away again with no explanation. (Frosch, Lovett and Paul, 3/19)
The Wall Street Journal: Lawmaker Requests Probe Into Government Failure To Deliver Coronavirus Tests
A U.S. senator from Washington, the state hardest hit by the spreading coronavirus pandemic, on Thursday requested an investigation into the federal government’s failure to deliver badly needed tests that detect the new virus, according to the lawmaker. “I am still hearing from people that they go to their health-care provider and they say, `Gosh, we don’t have any test kits available,’ ” said Democratic Sen. Patty Murray in an interview Thursday. (Weaver, 3/19)
Modern Healthcare: New COVID-19 Testing Priorities Recommended By IDSA
The Infectious Diseases Society of America on Thursday created a four-tier system to determine whether patients should be tested for coronavirus. Under the recommendations, critically ill patients with unexplained symptoms, immunicompromised patients with COVID-19 symptoms and those vital to the response to the pandemic should be tested for the virus first. Long-term care patients are in the second tier along with non-ICU patients. (3/19)
The New York Times: Can’t Get Tested? Maybe You’re In The Wrong Country
Scientists around the world were waiting at their computers in early January when China released the coronavirus genetic code, the blueprint for creating tests and vaccines. Within days, labs from Hong Kong to Berlin had designed tests and shared their research with others. Within about two weeks, Australia had its own tests, and even citizens in the most far-flung regions of the country could be tested. Laboratories in Singapore and South Korea ramped up test kit production and ordered extra supplies. That quick work allowed them to test hundreds of thousands of people, isolate the sick and — so far, at least — contain the spread of the disease. (Apuzzo and Gebrekidan, 3/20)
Boston Globe: Inside The State’s First Large-Scale Drive-Through Coronavirus Testing Facility
The opening of Massachusetts’ first high capacity, drive-through testing facility on Thursday represented a significant and hopeful step in a state response that has been criticized as sluggish and insufficient. The CVS parking lot will be the first mass testing site in a state that had its first confirmed cases of the coronavirus 48 days ago. (Lazar and Ryan, 3/19)
Boston Globe: Baker Says ‘Enormous Increase’ In Coronavirus Testing Is Coming; Confirmed Case Tally Rises To 328
Governor Charlie Baker pledged Thursday morning that Massachusetts would soon see an “enormous increase” in testing for coronavirus as he acknowledged that the state’s capacity to screen people remained far below what was needed to blunt the local impact of the pandemic. (Finucane, Andersen and Ryann, 3/19)
WBUR: Baker: 'Enormous' Testing Increase Will Mean 3,500 Per Day By Early Next Week
Gov. Charlie Baker toured a new COVID-19 testing site Thursday at Quest Diagnostics in Marlborough, promising that Massachusetts will be able to do 3,500 tests a day by early next week. Quest started COVID-19 testing at the facility today. (Becker, 3/19)
New Orleans Times-Picayune: New Orleans' Drive-Through Coronavirus Testing To Open Friday For Health Care Workers, First Responders
Two drive-through coronavirus testing sites will open to health care workers and first responders on Friday in New Orleans, one of the first cities to set up such sites as part of a pilot program with the federal government. Those seeking to be tested at the sites will have to show proof they are a member of the group being tested and have symptoms of the disease, which has been spreading rapidly in New Orleans, according to a press release from city government. (Adelson, 3/19)
