The Latest Testing Shortage: People
States have finally been able to ramp up their capacity, but in a strange twist, few people are showing up to get tested. Experts say several factors may be at play, including a lingering sense of scarcity, a lack of access in rural and underserved communities, concerns about cost and skepticism about testing operations. Meanwhile, as the FDA clears another at-home-testing kit for use and President Donald Trump reiterates support for an Abbott quick test that could miss up to 50% of cases. In other news: a Bill and Melinda Gates testing program is shut down by the FDA, while experts say don't count on "immunity passports" as a silver bullet for reopening.
The Washington Post:
As Coronavirus Testing Expands, A New Problem Arises: Not Enough People To Test
Four months into the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, tests for the virus finally are becoming widely available, a crucial step toward lifting stay-at-home orders and safely returning to normal life. But while many states no longer report crippling supply shortages, a new problem has emerged: too few people lining up to get tested. A Washington Post survey of governors’ offices and state health departments found at least a dozen states where testing capacity outstrips the supply of patients. Many have scrambled to make testing more convenient, especially for vulnerable communities, by setting up pop-up sites and developing apps that help assess symptoms, find free test sites and deliver quick results. (Thompson, Eilperin and Dennis, 5/17)
The Associated Press:
Los Angeles Offers Virus Tests To All, Still Has Unused Kits
With ample coronavirus tests and not enough sick people seeking them, the mayor of Los Angeles recently did something on a scale no other major U.S. city had done — allow anyone with or without symptoms to be tested as often as they want. A website to book a test was quickly swamped by residents in the nation’s second-largest city and the surrounding county who couldn’t get tested under more stringent guidelines and were concerned they were infected or could be asymptomatic carriers unwittingly exposing others. (Melley, 5/16)
The Associated Press:
Trump Still Confident In Virus Test Despite False Negatives
President Donald Trump expressed no concerns Friday about a rapid coronavirus test that the White House has been relying on to ensure his safety, despite new data suggesting the test may return an inordinate share of false negatives. Trump expressed his confidence in the test from Abbott Laboratories after a preliminary study by New York University researchers reported problems with it. Trump and his deputies have promoted the 15-minute test as a “game changer” and have been using it for weeks now to try to keep the White House complex safe. (Colvin, Perrone and Madhani, 5/15)
Politico:
Trump Praises Rapid Coronavirus Test Despite FDA Warning
“It’s a very quick test, and it can always be very rapidly double-checked if you’re testing positive or negative,” he said. “It can always be double-checked, but it’s a very good test. Very portable. Very quick.” The president’s remarks came after researchers at New York University found earlier this week that Abbott’s test, run on a machine called ID NOW, did not identify many infections caught by Cepheid’s Xpert Xpress PCR test, which can return results in less than 45 minutes. (Forgey, 5/15)
The New York Times:
F.D.A. Clears Another Coronavirus Testing Kit For Use At Home
The Food and Drug Administration on Saturday granted emergency clearance for a coronavirus testing kit that will enable individuals to take a nasal sample at home and send it to a laboratory for diagnostic testing, the second such approval it has made. Dr. Jeffrey Shuren, director of the agency’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement that the new test “not only provides increased patient access to tests, but also protects others from potential exposure.” Health care workers can risk infection when they administer diagnostic tests. (Kaplan, 5/16)
Reuters:
FDA Suspends Gates-Backed At-Home COVID-19 Testing Program
An at-home coronavirus testing project in Seattle backed in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said on Saturday it was working with U.S. regulators to resume the program after being suspended by the Food and Drug Administration. The Seattle Coronavirus Assessment Network (SCAN), which aims to monitor the spread of the novel coronavirus in the region, had said it was suspending its testing of patient samples collected at home after the Food and Drug Administration tightened guidelines to require emergency approval first. (5/16)
Politico:
'Immunity Passports' Won't Reopen America
Antibody tests and “immunity passports” were supposed to be the great hope for safely reopening the economy. The problem is many of the more than 120 tests on the market are inaccurate. And scientists don’t really yet understand how much immunity antibodies confer or how long it lasts. But these tests — and the apps to promote them — are gaining traction among businesses and consumers eager to know who has been exposed to the virus, raising the risk that people will be relying on faulty results to promote their immunity from the coronavirus. (Kenen, 5/18)
