Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Testing Backlog Better, Giroir Says; Data System Worse, Health Officials Say
The Hill: Trump Testing Czar Says 56 Percent Of COVID-19 Results Coming Back Within Three Days
The Trump administration official in charge of the United States's COVID-19 testing strategy said Thursday backlogs are improving and most lab results are coming back within three days or less. COVID-19 outbreaks in the south and west have strained laboratory testing capacity, leading to turnaround times of several days or even weeks, hampering efforts to contain the spread of the virus. (Hellmann, 7/30)
AP: Virus Testing Turnaround Times Reveal Wide Disparity
Cameron Settles was swabbed for COVID-19 in mid-June at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando and it took him eight days to get the results. “They originally told him that it would be five days,” said Jenna Settles, his wife. “Then when he went to log in, it said six days, then seven days. He eventually had to call and wait on hold for three or four hours to get his result.” (Lush, 7/31)
AP: Tyson Foods To Increase Virus Testing In US Meat Plants
Tyson Foods says it plans to administer thousands of coronavirus tests per week at its U.S. facilities under an expanded effort to protect workers and keep plants running. The Springdale, Arkansas-based company, which processes about 20% of all beef, pork and chicken in the U.S., will randomly test employees who have no symptoms, as well as those with symptoms. Workers will also be tested if they were near someone who tested positive or displayed symptoms. (Durbin, 7/30)
In other news related to testing and reporting —
NPR: New Trump COVID-19 Hospitalization Data System Is Not Faster Nor More Complete
Earlier this month, when the Trump administration told hospitals to send crucial data about coronavirus cases and intensive care capacity to a new online system, it promised the change would be worth it. The data would be more complete, transparent, and an improvement over the old platform run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, administration officials said. Instead, the public data hub created under the new system is updated erratically and is rife with inconsistencies and errors, data analysts say. (Huang and Simmons-Duffin, 7/31)
