|
 Testing to find the virus before patients spread it further is key
to controlling the pandemic, especially as lockdowns lift. The
Arizona delays - in testing and results reporting - are similar to
problems seen earlier in the epidemic, and some labs across the
country are facing shortages of supplies, an industry group said.
In Arizona, Roche Holding recently told Sonora Quest lab, a joint
venture between Phoenix-based Banner Health and Quest Diagnostics,
that a new instrument it had hoped to get in June would not be
delivered until August, said Sonora Chief Operating Officer Sonya
Engle.
"The testing demand has increased significantly," said Engle, whose
lab is responsible for approximately 80% of Arizona COVID-19 tests.
"We have reached record highs each day in the past couple weeks."
On Friday, she said, the lab received a record 12,000 test orders,
double its capacity. It is aiming to ramp up to 17,000 a day but is
still working on a deal with a new supplier to make that possible.
Roche said in response to a request from Reuters that it has been
ramping up production since March and is committed to delivering as
many tests as possible to the most affected areas, including
Arizona.
"At the height of this global pandemic, demand for diagnostic tests
and the instruments to conduct them continues to outstrip supply,"
the company said on Tuesday in a statement.
Last week the American Association for Clinical Chemistry, which
represents clinical lab workers and researchers, wrote to Deborah
Birx, the White House coronavirus task force response coordinator,
urging her to "use the authority of the federal government to obtain
and allocate these vital supplies."
[to top of second column] |
In a May survey of 100 labs, 50% said they continued to have difficulty getting
the swabs, reagents or test kits they needed, according to the letter, which has
not been published previously.
The White House referred questions to the Federal Emergency Management Agency,
which did not immediately respond.
Arizona, Florida and Texas are all experiencing record surges in new infections,
according to a Reuters analysis. Arizona reported 17,000 new cases last week, a
90% increase, with 20% of tests coming back positive.
The major suppliers to U.S. labs, including Roche and Abbott, sell both lab
equipment and proprietary chemicals called reagent kits that are specific to
their equipment. When reagent runs low, labs generally cannot switch suppliers.
In recent days, some free testing sites in Arizona have had to turn patients
away because of rising demand, according to local media reports. The Arizona
Republic reported that some people had waited as long as 13 hours at one site in
Phoenix on Saturday.
Engle said patients have waited five to six days for results, up from two to
three days in May.
(Reporting by Allison Martell in Toronto; Additional reporting by John Miller in
Zurich and Alexandra Alper in Washington; editing by Peter Henderson and Dan
Grebler)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
