Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
States Must Increase Daily Testing By Tens Of Thousands To Get High Enough Rates To Reopen, Analysis Finds
Stat: Many States Short Of Covid-19 Testing Levels Needed For Reopening
More than half of U.S. states will have to significantly step up their Covid-19 testing to even consider starting to relax stay-at-home orders after May 1, according to a new analysis by Harvard researchers and STAT. The analysis shows that as the U.S. tries to move beyond its monthslong coronavirus testing debacle — faulty tests, shortages of tests, and guidelines that excluded many people who should have been tested to mitigate the outbreak — it is at risk of fumbling the next challenge: testing enough people to determine which cities and states can safely reopen and stay open. Doing so will require the ability to catch reappearances of the coronavirus before it again spreads uncontrollably. (Begley, 4/27)
The Associated Press: Many States Fall Short Of Mandate To Track Virus Exposure
As more states push to reopen their economies, many are falling short on one of the federal government’s essential criteria for doing so — having an efficient system to track people who have been physically near a person infected with the coronavius. An Associated Press review found a patchwork of systems around the country for so-called contact tracing, with many states unable to keep up with caseloads and scrambling to hire and train enough people to handle the task for the months ahead. The effort is far less than what public health experts say is needed to guard against a resurgence of the virus. (Cassidy and Dearen, 4/25)
The Hill: Fauci Confident US Will Double Coronavirus Testing Capacity Over Next Several Weeks
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Saturday that he is confident the U.S. will be able to double its coronavirus testing capacity over the next several weeks, something he stressed is needed to safely reopen portions of the economy. Fauci said in a webcast hosted by the National Academy of Sciences that the U.S. is currently averaging between 1.5 million and 2 million tests per week. "We probably should get up to twice that as we get into the next several weeks, and I think we will," Fauci said. (Wise, 4/26)
NPR: Slavitt, Gottlieb Seek Money For Contact Tracing, Self-Isolation
Two leading former federal health officials, who served in recent Republican and Democratic administrations, are spearheading a call for a $46 billion public health investment in a next coronavirus aid package in order to safely reopen the economy. Andy Slavitt, former director of Medicare and Medicaid in the Obama administration, and Scott Gottlieb, a former Food and Drug Administration chief for President Trump, say that Congress needs to devote funding to help states track down people who have been exposed to the coronavirus, and to offer resources to infected and exposed individuals who wish to self-isolate. (Ordonez, 4/27)
Reuters: Investors Bet On Testing, Treatments For Restart Of U.S. Economy
Investors are pinning their hopes for the reopening of the U.S. economy on the potential for wider availability of testing for COVID-19 cases and on drug trials for treatments of the deadly disease but said, until there is concrete progress in these areas, further stock market gains may be limited. (Carew, 4/26)
Modern Healthcare: National COVID-19 Testing Plan Needs To Address Cost Concerns, Experts Say
Public health experts welcomed Congress’ decision to allocate billions for COVID-19 testing, but cautioned that money alone won’t solve the challenges states and providers face in expanding access. "We remain concerned that hospitals and small communities may be left behind,” said Blair Holladay, CEO of the American Society for Clinical Pathology. “The money is there, but we will need to work tirelessly to ensure that these resources are distributed adequately to the communities that need them.” (Johnson, 4/25)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Walmart, State To Open New COVID-19 Test Center To Serve Rural Georgia
Walmart, a federal health contractor and the state are partnering to bring a new drive-through coronavirus testing service to sites in South, central and east Georgia. Gov. Brian Kemp’s office on Sunday announced Walmart and contractor eTrueNorth will operate drive-through testing sites that will rotate between the cities of Tifton, Milledgeville and Hephzibah, a small town near Augusta. (Trubey, 4/26)
Las Vegas Review-Journal: Walmart, Costco, Smith’s, Target Juggle Privacy, Safety Under Virus
As more test positive for the coronavirus, companies now face daunting decisions about how best to protect sick employee identities under privacy laws while revealing critical health information that could protect other workers. Within the past month, COVID-19 cases have turned up in Las Vegas among workers at Albertsons, Vons, Costco, Target and Smith’s Food & Drug stores. At Walmart, at least four employees in one North Las Vegas store tested positive. (German, 4/24)
