Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Saliva Tests Offer Safer Experience For Workers, Less Painful One For Patients
The New York Times: New Coronavirus Test Offers Advantages: Just Spit And Wait
A new test for the coronavirus is so simple and straightforward, almost anyone could do it: Spit a glob of saliva into a cup, close the lid and hand it over. While not as fast to process as the speediest swab tests, saliva tests could transform the diagnosis of Covid-19. If manufactured in enough numbers and processed by enough labs across the country, they could alleviate the diagnostic shortages that have hampered containment of the pandemic and offer a less onerous way for companies to see if workers are infected. (Mandavilli, 4/29)
Modern Healthcare: LabCorp Has Excess COVID-19 Test Capacity After Weeks Of Backlogs
After weeks of backlogged COVID-19 tests, the CEO of LabCorp said on an earnings call Wednesday that the company now has additional testing capacity. "We're not using all of our capacity at the 60,000 per day right now," CEO Adam Schechter said on the call. "I think that's just short term. I think as states become up and running and back to business, I think we'll be at full capacity in the very near future." (Bannow, 4/29)
NPR: Antigen Tests For The Coronavirus Might Be Easier, But How Reliable?
States clamoring for coronavirus tests in recent weeks have been talking about two different types. First, there's a PCR test that detects the virus' genetic material, so can confirm an active infection. And then there's an antibody test, which looks at the body's reaction to that infection, so is useful in identifying people who have been infected with the virus in the past. Now, there's a third kind of test under development to help fight COVID-19 that homes in on proteins that stud the virus's outer surface; it, too, detects an active infection. (Stein, 4/30)
The Associated Press: Mayor: LA 1st Major US City Offering All Residents Tests
The city of Los Angeles will offer free coronavirus testing to all residents regardless of whether they have symptoms, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced Wednesday. Testing centers have been set up across the city but until now they were reserved for those with symptoms and frontline employees like health care and grocery store workers. Los Angeles will be the first major U.S. city to offer “large, widescale testing to all its residents, with or without symptoms,” Garcetti said at his daily briefing. (4/30)
The Washington Post: Richmond Coronavirus Testing Targets Poor African Americans
Tiffany Smith tilted her head way back, sending her long ponytail almost to her waist and allowing a nurse to stick a cotton swab up one nostril, then another. “Oh, damn!” she said, wiping her nose after undergoing a free coronavirus test in an east Richmond parking lot. “Whoo!” Though she hated how it felt, Smith, 47, had been seeking the nasal swab since she and her husband, Charles, started having fevers, coughs, sweats and headaches about a week ago. (Vozzella and Schneider, 4/29)
The Washington Post: Why Maryland Has Not Distributed Hogan's Coronavirus Tests From South Korea
When Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) announced the purchase of 500,000 coronavirus tests from South Korea last week, he called it “an exponential, game-changing step forward” in the state’s effort to get more people tested. The dramatic story drew notice from Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and a dismissive swipe from fellow Republican President Trump. (Cox and Thompson, 4/29)
PBS NewsHour: Why Antibody Tests, A Crucial Step Toward Overcoming COVID-19, Are Still Unreliable
Testing, both for active cases of COVID-19 and for antibodies indicating prior exposure to the disease, will be critical to resuming economic activity. In addition, scientists are racing to develop therapies for people who do get infected -- especially those who become seriously ill. (O’Brien, 4/29)
