The number of coronavirus tests analyzed each day by commercial labs in the U.S. plummeted by more than 30 percent over the past week, even though new infections are still surging in many states and officials are desperately trying to ramp up testing so the country can reopen.
...the American Clinical Laboratory Association reported that the number of samples commercial labs handle each day fell from 108,000 on April 5 to 75,000 by April 12. The group’s members...analyze about two-thirds of all coronavirus tests in the U.S.
“ACLA members have now eliminated testing backlogs, and have considerable capacity that is not being used,” ACLA President Julie Khani. “We stand ready to perform more testing and are in close communication with public health partners about ways we can support additional needs.”
Quest Diagnostics, one of two major U.S. commercial lab companies, told POLITICO it is increasing outreach to health providers to “ensure patients are receiving testing they need.” The lab company, which had a backlog of 160,000 tests as recently as late March, says it now can run 45,000 tests per day and has unused capacity.
And it is not just commercial labs that are sitting around waiting for new tests to come in:
The Department of Health of Human Services has also seen a downtick in the number of tests analyzed nationwide in recent days, a spokesperson said.
The author of this article is puzzled by the loci of the problem. There seem to be blockages to the test collection itself. Although:
The American Hospital Association said it is not aware of member hospitals conducting fewer tests, but added “it’s not something we have numbers on.”
I find it puzzling that the AHA would not have numbers on that.
Among the potential blockage points:
1) The guidelines by CDC for who gets tested "may be" too narrow.
It’s not clear whether demand has peaked among the groups on the CDC’s priority list. But after being overwhelmed for weeks, commercial labs say they are now sitting with unused testing capacity waiting for samples to arrive.
the country needs to dramatically increase the number of Americans tested — in part by expanding who is eligible for screening.
2) Supply shortages apparently at both the test collection and analysis points:
Labs:
...some labs [presumably the smaller ones, not Quest, perhaps not ACLA member labs] are still struggling with supply shortages that make it difficult to analyze samples. Many medical school labs and teaching hospitals are having trouble getting enough swabs, personal protective equipment and other supplies needed to collect and analyze patient samples, Association of American Medical Colleges CEO David Skorton said Monday in a letter to the White House.
“Widespread but uneven shortages...have resulted in...few labs...able to maximize the testing capacity...”
Wyoming's public health lab says that in recent days it has cut back on testing because of limited supplies. "We are only taking the priority samples out of a need to preserve the reagent we have,” said Kim Deti, spokesperson for the state health department.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/14/coronavirus-testing-delays-186883
...the American Clinical Laboratory Association reported that the number of samples commercial labs handle each day fell from 108,000 on April 5 to 75,000 by April 12. The group’s members...analyze about two-thirds of all coronavirus tests in the U.S.
“ACLA members have now eliminated testing backlogs, and have considerable capacity that is not being used,” ACLA President Julie Khani. “We stand ready to perform more testing and are in close communication with public health partners about ways we can support additional needs.”
Quest Diagnostics, one of two major U.S. commercial lab companies, told POLITICO it is increasing outreach to health providers to “ensure patients are receiving testing they need.” The lab company, which had a backlog of 160,000 tests as recently as late March, says it now can run 45,000 tests per day and has unused capacity.
And it is not just commercial labs that are sitting around waiting for new tests to come in:
The Department of Health of Human Services has also seen a downtick in the number of tests analyzed nationwide in recent days, a spokesperson said.
The author of this article is puzzled by the loci of the problem. There seem to be blockages to the test collection itself. Although:
The American Hospital Association said it is not aware of member hospitals conducting fewer tests, but added “it’s not something we have numbers on.”
I find it puzzling that the AHA would not have numbers on that.
Among the potential blockage points:
1) The guidelines by CDC for who gets tested "may be" too narrow.
It’s not clear whether demand has peaked among the groups on the CDC’s priority list. But after being overwhelmed for weeks, commercial labs say they are now sitting with unused testing capacity waiting for samples to arrive.
the country needs to dramatically increase the number of Americans tested — in part by expanding who is eligible for screening.
2) Supply shortages apparently at both the test collection and analysis points:
Labs:
...some labs [presumably the smaller ones, not Quest, perhaps not ACLA member labs] are still struggling with supply shortages that make it difficult to analyze samples. Many medical school labs and teaching hospitals are having trouble getting enough swabs, personal protective equipment and other supplies needed to collect and analyze patient samples, Association of American Medical Colleges CEO David Skorton said Monday in a letter to the White House.
“Widespread but uneven shortages...have resulted in...few labs...able to maximize the testing capacity...”
Wyoming's public health lab says that in recent days it has cut back on testing because of limited supplies. "We are only taking the priority samples out of a need to preserve the reagent we have,” said Kim Deti, spokesperson for the state health department.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/14/coronavirus-testing-delays-186883
