Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Testing Equipment Troubles: Early Kits Were Likely Contaminated; Trump Administration Bought Unsterile Tubes
The Washington Post: CDC Coronavirus Test Kits Were Likely Contaminated, Federal Review Confirms
The test kits for detecting the nation’s earliest cases of the novel coronavirus failed because of “likely” contamination at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, whose scientists did not thoroughly check the kits despite “anomalies” during manufacturing, according to a new federal review. The review, conducted by two Department of Health and Human Services lawyers, also said there was “time pressure’’ at the CDC to launch testing, and “lab practices that may have been insufficient to prevent the risk of contamination.’’ The lawyers, from the department’s general counsel’s office, were not named. (Willman, 6/20)
ProPublica: The Trump Administration Paid Millions For Test Tubes — And Got Unusable Mini Soda Bottles
Since May, the Trump administration has paid a fledgling Texas company $7.3 million for test tubes needed in tracking the spread of the coronavirus nationwide. But, instead of the standard vials, Fillakit LLC has supplied plastic tubes made for bottling soda, which state health officials say are unusable. The state officials say that these “preforms,” which are designed to be expanded with heat and pressure into 2-liter soda bottles, don’t fit the racks used in laboratory analysis of test samples. Even if the bottles were the right size, experts say, the company’s process likely contaminated the tubes and could yield false test results. (McSwane and Gabrielson, 6/18)
NPR: If You Get A Coronavirus Test, Will Insurance Pay? It Depends
In the wake of the massive turnout at anti-racism demonstrations around the country, public health officials are encouraging protesters to get tested for the coronavirus. As purely precautionary testing has become more common, some insurance companies are arguing they can't just pay for everyone who's concerned about their risk to get tested. Lynne Cushing of Nashville, Tenn., says she had been pretty strict about social distancing until the recent protests, which she felt compelled to attend. (Farmer, 6/19)
Kaiser Health News: As Problems Grow With Abbott’s Fast COVID Test, FDA Standards Are Under Fire
In mid-May, the Food and Drug Administration issued a rare public warning about an Abbott Laboratories COVID-19 test that for weeks had received high praise from the White House because of its speed: Test results could be wrong. The agency at that point had received 15 “adverse event reports” about Abbott’s ID NOW rapid COVID test suggesting that infected patients were wrongly told they did not have the coronavirus, which had led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans. The warning followed multiple academic studies showing higher “false negative” rates from the Abbott device, including one from New York University researchers who found it missed close to half of the positive samples detected by a rival company’s test. (Pradhan, 6/22)
The New York Times: Big Tech Zeros In On The Virus-Testing Market
Verily Life Sciences, a sister company of Google, scrambled to introduce a free coronavirus-screening site for the public and set up testing locations in March after President Trump made an off-the-cuff announcement about the program. It had a rocky start, but has since helped more than 220,000 people get tested in 13 states. Now, the company has its sights set on employers. It is introducing a health screening and analytics service for businesses trying to safely reopen during the pandemic. (Singer, 6/18)
Reuters: 'No-Swab' Saliva Test For Coronavirus Piloted In Britain
A weekly coronavirus testing regime using a “no-swab” saliva test is being trialled in Southampton, southern England, and could result in a simpler and quicker way to detect outbreaks of the virus, the British government said on Monday. “Saliva testing could potentially make it even easier for people to take coronavirus tests at home, without having to use swabs,” said Health Secretary Matt Hancock. “This trial will also help us learn if routine, at-home testing could pick up cases of the virus earlier.” (6/22)
Kaiser Health News: Easy To Say ‘Get Tested.’ Harder To Do. Here’s How.
Will Bondurant decided to get tested for COVID-19 after attending three racial justice demonstrations over a five-day period in San Francisco, where he lives. The first, on June 3, “was the scariest and most risky from the point of view of COVID infection,” said Bondurant, 31. Although most wore masks, participants were jammed in, unable at times to maintain the recommended 6-foot distance, he said. Bondurant did not have any COVID symptoms but went for the test because he had a meeting scheduled the following weekend with a friend in his late 70s. (Wolfson and Galewitz, 6/22)
Modern Healthcare: Federal COVID-19 Uninsured Reimbursement Program Sparks Data Privacy Concerns
Roughly half of the patients Zufall Health Center serves in New Jersey are uninsured. But requirements to get federal payment for COVID-19 testing and treatment for those patients have given Zufall CEO Eva Turbiner pause. New Jersey has the second-highest number of COVID-19 deaths in the country, but the state hasn't yet taken steps to ensure COVID-19 testing and treatment for uninsured patients are readily reimbursable by Medicaid. Healthcare providers can apply for federal reimbursement, but the claim forms ask for Social Security numbers that Zufall doesn't always collect. (Cohrs ,6/19)
The Washington Post: Democratic Senators Say Trump Administration Has Been Slow To Use Coronavirus Testing Funds
The Trump administration has yet to distribute nearly one-third of the funds provided by Congress for coronavirus testing and contact tracing, leading Senate Democrats say. The Department of Health and Human Services has neither spent nor detailed how it plans to spend $8 billion out of a $25 billion pot to be used for stemming the virus’s spread through diagnostic and antibody testing and contact tracing, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) charge. The funds were provided as part of the fourth pandemic relief bill passed by Congress at the end of April. (Winfield Cunningham, 6/21)
ABC News: Employers Can't Require COVID-19 Antibody Tests, EEOC Says
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission made it clear that employers can't force workers to take COVID-19 antibody tests, as businesses begin grappling with how to safely reopen amid the pandemic. The federal group that enforces anti-discrimination laws said in a new post on Wednesday, however, that business leaders can require workers to take a viral test to determine whether they are actively infected. (Flaherty and Thorbecke, 6/18)
The New York Times: N.Y.C. Hired 3,000 Workers For Contact Tracing. It’s Off To A Slow Start.
New York City’s ambitious contact-tracing program, a crucial initiative in the effort to curb the coronavirus, has gotten off to a worrisome start just as the city’s reopening enters a new phase on Monday, with outdoor dining, in-store shopping and office work resuming. The city has hired 3,000 disease detectives and case monitors, who are supposed to identify anyone who has come into contact with the hundreds of people who are still testing positive for the virus in the city every day. But the first statistics from the program, which began on June 1, indicate that tracers are often unable to locate infected people or gather information from them. (Otterman, 6/21)
The Hill: Infectious Disease Expert: We Should Be Testing For Coronavirus As Much As Possible
Michael Osterholm, director for the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said it is “wrong” to hear that Trump administration officials don’t want to have coronavirus testing in the U.S. “To hear the fact that, we don't want to do testing, is wrong. Absolutely, we should be testing as much as possible,” Osterholm said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” (Klar, 6/21)
