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 Several state lab directors and the director of the Association of
Public Health Laboratories also told Reuters that supplies were
short.
Widespread testing is one of the core requirements necessary for
controlling the spread of the novel coronavirus, and delays in tests
raise the likelihood of transmission.
"The nascent federal supply effort for COVID-19 testing has been
beset by logistical problems that impede our pandemic response and
undermine our shared goals," Washington state Secretary of Health
John Wiesman said in his June 30 letter to U.S. Assistant Secretary
for Health Admiral Brett Giroir.
The supply chain problem "threatens to limit our overall testing
capacity at a critical time in the pandemic response," he said. (For
a copy of the letter, see: https://tmsnrt.rs/38uOkyg)
Two months ago, seeking to address problems in the national supply
chain, the federal government started sending states weekly
shipments of swabs and chemicals used to gather and preserve
specimens for testing. Wiesman thanked Giroir for the help.
But he said that system is beset with problems, including swabs that
have had to be re-sterilized and shipments delayed without
temperature control.
Addressing the state's concerns about poorly packaged swabs and
chemicals specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services
said that beginning in July it will provide states with individually
wrapped sterile swabs.
"We are in constant contact with states to overcome any issues with
testing supplies and reagents and are working with states to ensure
they have testing materials," said agency spokeswoman Mia Heck in a
statement.
Corporate test makers also are not meeting demand.
Scott Shone, the director of North Carolina's public health
laboratory, said he had been told by the federal government and
clinical labs in his state that Roche would not be able to ramp up
production of reagents, chemicals used in tests, until later this
year, and that Danaher's Cepheid would not be able to ramp up
supplies until early 2021.
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"The supply chain is just not there to support the growing demand for testing,"
he said.
The concerns about strains in the testing supply chain have emerged in the last
two weeks as COVID-19 cases have surged in Texas, Florida, Arizona and
California.
Roche, Cepheid, and every other supplier reached by Reuters acknowledged that
demand for tests exceeds supply. All are working to boost production, but none
said when they expect to be able to meet demand.
Joe Saad, chairman of pathology with the Methodist Health System in Dallas, said
Texas, a hot spot, does not appear to be receiving priority supplies. "How
they're allocated is a complete mystery to us," he said.
Methodist relies more heavily on outside labs when it is short on supply, and
tests it can do in six hours in house are taking four to six days from the
outside lab, he said.
Quest Diagnostics, a national independent lab, said on Monday that for all but
its highest priority patients, results were taking three to five days because of
"surging demand." Customers had previously told Reuters that their turnaround
was usually two to three days.
Scott Becker, chief executive of the Association of Public Health Laboratories,
says he has heard from a handful of state health laboratories in the last two
weeks that they are short on reagents or other supplies they need to do COVID
testing.
He is worried that testing may have to be limited to people showing symptoms, as
it was early in the pandemic. "I'm concerned that we are going to be forced to
go a little bit backwards."
(Reporting by Ned Parker in New York and Allison Martell in Toronto; Editing by
Peter Henderson and Daniel Wallis)
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