States Say $631M From Feds For Testing, Contact Tracing Efforts Is Woefully Inadequate
For contact tracing alone, a recent report estimated 100,000 additional contact tracers are needed to keep the virus in check. That effort would require an estimated $3.6 billion in national emergency funding, as a starting point. And those figures don't account for what states also need for testing programs, health officials say. In other news: a saliva-based test, the need for real-time reporting, nerves at the drive-thru line, contact tracing on a tribal reservation and more.
The Washington Post:
Feds Make $631 Million Available To States To Pay For Coronavirus Testing, Contact Tracing
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday that it is sending $631 million to state and local health departments to increase their capacity to do contact tracing and testing for the novel coronavirus — a fraction of what many officials say they need to safely restart their economies. State and local health officials are also pressing to use this moment to build back up public health capacities that they say have been insufficient for years. (Wan, 4/23)
The Hill:
Fauci: US Needs To 'Significantly Ramp Up' Testing
Anthony Fauci, the administration's top infectious diseases expert, said Thursday that the United States needs to "significantly ramp up" its testing capacity in order to effectively contain the coronavirus as blunt measures like stay-at-home orders are eased. "I agree you don't need to test everybody, but you should at least be able to test the people in which you have to test to be able to do containment, and right now I think there's still some gaps there," Fauci said in an interview with Time magazine. "I mean, on paper it might look OK, but we absolutely need to significantly ramp up not only the number of tests, but the capacity to actually perform them." (Sullivan, 4/23)
The Hill:
Trump Says He Disagrees With Fauci On Testing Capabilities
President Trump said Thursday he disagreed with Anthony Fauci’s statement that the U.S. does not yet have the testing capacity that it needs to effectively contain the spread of the novel coronavirus as stay-at-home restrictions are relaxed. “No, I don’t agree with him on that. I think we are doing a great job on testing,” Trump told reporters at a White House briefing Thursday evening when asked about Fauci’s recent remarks in a Time magazine interview. “If he said that, I don’t agree with him,” Trump continued. (Chalfant, 4/23)
Politico:
Rutgers’ Saliva-Based Covid Test Could Be Key To Unlocking New Jersey’s Economy
New Jersey officials are hoping a saliva-based test developed by Rutgers University will soon allow tens of thousands of state residents a day to be tested for coronavirus. The test, which was touted by President Donald Trump during a press briefing late last week, could allow New Jersey to roughly triple its current daily testing capacity, potentially putting the state on track to lift elements of a stay-at-home order officials believe has saved tens of thousands of lives at tremendous economic cost. (Sutton, 4/23)
The Hill:
Romney, Sinema Request CDC Develop Real-Time Reporting Method: US Is 'Behind The Curve'
Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) requested the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) develop a method of real-time national reporting of coronavirus cases, saying they worry the U.S. is “behind the curve.” The two senators submitted a letter to CDC Director Robert Redfield asking the federal agency to modernize its reporting capabilities, saying its current “significant” efforts “may not be enough to equip us to respond as fast as is required.” They wrote that real-time national reporting is needed to measure the “size and scope of the COVID-19 outbreak,” especially as states like Georgia and Oklahoma move to reopen. (Coleman, 4/23)
The Associated Press:
Fear For Themselves And Families On Drive-Thru Testing Lines
They climb into their cars in the middle of the night, racing to get on a line from which they may be turned away. Feeling sick and stressed, people in the states hardest hit by the coronavirus have continued to stream into drive-thru testing sites, hoping to get guidance about whether to seek treatment, or reassurance that they aren’t infected. (Mahoney and Wenig, 4/23)
NPR:
Navajo Nation Sees High Rate Of COVID-19
After New York and New Jersey, the place with the highest coronavirus infection rate in the U.S. is the Navajo Nation. Dr. Deborah Birx of the national task force told the White House press corps the tribe is using strike teams to address the issue. "They're really doing amazing work at their public health institutions with their governors and their mayors," Birx says. "They are in full contact tracing." (Moarles, 4/24)
Kaiser Health News:
Abbott’s Fast COVID Test Poses Safety Issues, Lab Workers Say
Lab personnel say worries are mounting over the safety of a rapid coronavirus test by Abbott Laboratories that President Donald Trump has repeatedly lauded ― particularly, the risk of infection to those handling it. Trump and federal health officials have promoted the ease with which the Abbott test can be given to patients, whether at a drive-thru site or a doctor’s office. Another selling point: The test could “save personal protective equipment (PPE),” according to the Department of Health and Human Services. (Pradhan, 4/23)
