Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Many Labs Say They Can Process Far More Tests Than Ordered. Experts Blame A Disorganized System.
The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Testing Capacity Is Going Unused
Many commercial and academic laboratories in the U.S. are processing coronavirus diagnostic tests far below their daily capacity, leaving tools crucial to slowing the virus’s spread unused. Some labs across the country say they are processing less than a quarter of the diagnostic tests for Covid-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus, they are equipped to manage. Lab executives and public-health officials blame barriers including fragmented supply chains, relatively strict test guidelines, incompatible electronic systems and a lack of centralized data on where capacity exists. (Abbott and Krouse, 4/29)
CNN: Big Commercial Labs Given Priority For Coronavirus Testing Equipment By Feds
President Donald Trump said Monday that he is confident the US is conducting enough coronavirus testing to begin rebooting the economy, declaring at the White House press briefing that "testing is not going to be a problem at all." But hospitals, clinics and point-of-care medical centers across the country continue to grapple with critical shortages in testing supplies that have limited the number of tests they conduct, more than a dozen lab personnel, state officials and medical associations tell CNN. (Devine and Tolan, 4/28)
ABC News: White House Doubles Down On Coronavirus Testing Partnership With Retailers Despite Slow Start
President Donald Trump doubled down Monday on an effort to enlist major retailers to set up drive-through coronavirus testing locations around the country -- an undertaking that has shown only modest progress since the White House first announced the idea six weeks ago. "Testing is not going to be a problem at all," Trump said Monday, before inviting the CEOs of CVS, Walmart, Walgreens and Rite Aid to the podium to describe their plans to scale up the nasal-swabbing stations. (Rubin and Mosk, 4/28)
The Hill: Five Things To Know About Where The US Stands On COVID-19 Tests
The White House is under enormous pressure to dramatically increase the nation’s capability to produce tests to control the coronavirus outbreak and safely reopen an economy shuttered by the pandemic. President Trump told reporters on March 6 during a visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta that “anybody that wants a test can get a test,” but that has been far from the reality. (Weixel, 4/28)
The Associated Press: Trump Says US Closer To Testing International Air Travelers
President Donald Trump said his administration is considering requiring travelers on certain incoming international flights to undergo temperature and virus checks to help stop the spread of the coronavirus. “We’re looking at doing it on the international flights coming out of areas that are heavily infected,” Trump said Tuesday at the White House. “We will be looking into that in the very near future.” (Colvin, Lemire and Freking, 4/29)
The Hill: Fauci Says US Will Have Needed Tests By End Of May, Beginning Of June
Anthony Fauci on Tuesday said he hoped anyone who needed a coronavirus test should be able to get one by the end of May or early June. “Hopefully we should see that as we get toward the end of May, the beginning of June,” Fauci said when asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper, “When will everybody who needs to get a test be able to get one?” (Sullivan, 4/28)
Kaiser Health News: COVID Tests Are Free, Except When They’re Not
Even before a novel virus swept around the world, Anna Davis Abel wore a mask to protect herself from getting sick. The 25-year-old writer lives with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease that makes her more susceptible to catching a virus or an infection. Davis Abel’s doctor cleared her to travel to a literary conference in San Antonio in early March. Then she developed a sore throat and low-grade fever several days after arriving home in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Rodriguez, 4/29)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Georgia Could Be At Risk For False-Negative COVID-19 Tests
As Georgia ramps up diagnostic testing for active coronavirus cases, some patients and public health experts fear a weakness in the state’s disease surveillance network isn’t just obtaining enough test kits and supplies but potential false negative results. It’s unclear how common false negative tests are in the U.S., though some preliminary research in China found inaccurate results as high as 30%, according to one survey. Doctors and public health experts say the culprits are a difficult process used to obtain most patient samples and the rapid deployment of test kits that haven’t been fully vetted by federal regulators. (Trubey, Schrade and Teegardin, 4/28)
