Looking for a COVID-19 test during the Delta surge? Here’s why they’re hard to find
Need a COVID test? Get in line.
The high transmission of the Delta variant among residents in Pierce County and the state as a whole means there is a lot of circulating illness and a lot of demand for tests.
“We are aware that there are waits to get appointments in some locations across the state or long lines at some of those walk-ins,” said Lacy Fehrenbach, deputy secretary for COVID-19 Response with the state DOH, in its media briefing on Wednesday. “You’ll recall this happened in the fall as well when we had really high levels of disease.”
System-wide staff shortages are putting pressure on staff who administer tests.
“They’re the same folks that work in our hospitals and our clinics across the state,“ Fehrenbach said.
Scarce availability of home tests on store shelves is the result of both high demand and a national shortage caused by the Delta variant and supply/distribution issues with the manufacturers, who saw a sharp drop in demand after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that vaccinated people without symptoms did not need testing, even after an exposure.
The CDC later changed that guidance amid the Delta surge and the discovery of higher viral loads among infected individuals.
The current recommendation is that those vaccinated “should get tested 3-5 days after exposure, and wear a mask in public indoor settings for 14 days or until they receive a negative test result.”
Too much data
The increased demand for testing is putting pressure on data collection as well.
In the period spanning Aug. 24-30, the most recent 7-day period with complete data, 89,456 specimens were collected across the state. Of those, 21.7 percent tested positive for COVID-19. That’s the highest percentage since the pandemic began.
On Wednesday, the state put a temporary hold on reporting negative-test numbers.
“We just saw the numbers increasing, and we couldn’t keep up,” DOH spokeswoman Teresa McCallion said Thursday.
McCallion said the moratorium on reporting will last through October but could end sooner. Meanwhile, positive-test numbers will continue to be reported.
Over the next several months, DOH plans on adding enough capacity to collect and process 70,000 tests per day.
Virginia Mason Franciscan Health told The News Tribune in response to questions Thursday that it’s now providing more than 1,300 PCR tests per week across its primary care, prompt and urgent care clinics, with a 24- to 48-hour turnaround time.
While it noted it was not experiencing a testing shortage right now, it considered the current volume “high capacity.”
In a statement, the health system advised, “Patients can call their local prompt or urgent care if they need testing. In some cases, we are prioritizing urgent care testing appointments for symptomatic patients to make sure they receive any necessary treatment and quarantine appropriately. We continue to accept patients into our primary care clinics for testing as well, and patients should call their primary care provider to schedule an appointment as needed.”
Home testing
Over-the-counter rapid tests have gained favor over time as a faster way to get results rather than the “gold standard” PCR tests.
The tests tend to work better if you have symptoms, according to industry accuracy reviews. Observers have noted that at-home antigen tests are more likely to produce a false negative among asymptomatic patients than a false positive.
The Biden administration last week announced plans to boost availability and production for home test kits and to make them more affordable, invoking the Defense Production Act.
For now, finding the rapid tests, which offer results within 10-15 minutes, can be a challenge.
A search on CVS’ online supply tracker showed no availability online Wednesday for the BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen Self Test, one of the first approved home kits, and limited availability in just a handful of stores in the region.
The Everlywell and Pixel tests also use at-home specimen collection systems but the samples are then mailed into a certified lab for testing. Those results are reported to the customer as well as the state in 1-2 days, the manufacturers say.
The instant results from the BinaxNOW test are not reported to the state and therefore never become part of the official tally as reported on the DOH’s website.
“But people can call in and tell us their test results,” McCallion said. “And if they’re positive, then that initiates that chain to help them understand what they need to do next.”
That includes access to resources as well as state contact tracing.
Who is getting tested?
Some people get tested for COVID-19 because they are experiencing symptoms of an infection: fever, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, body aches, sore throat, congestion, loss of taste and smell.
Others are getting tested in order to work, fly, attend an event or meet some other requirement.
The state doesn’t ask or track why people get tested for COVID-19, McCallion said.
If you do have symptoms that might be COVID-19, follow precautions until you get your test results back, health officials say.
SELF-REPORTING IF YOU ARE POSITIVE
If you have an over-the counter home test kit result that is positive for COVID-19, call the state COVID-19 hotline, 800-525-0127 then press # (press 7 for Spanish), as soon as you receive results, according to the state DOH. The hotline is available Monday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Tuesday to Sunday (and observed holidays) 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Language assistance is available.
WHERE TO FIND TESTING
▪ State Department of Health offers information on locations statewide: doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/COVID19/TestingforCOVID19
▪ You can also obtain free test kits from the Pierce County library system or Tacoma Public Library, or request home delivery of a COVID-19 PCR test swab. Go to tpchd.org/healthy-people/diseases/covid-19/testing-information for more information on these options or to find a test site near you.
▪ Additionally, Pierce County Department of Emergency Management’s COVID testing site is open daily (except for holidays) 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 3003 107th St S. in Lakewood (former vehicle emissions test site). Tests are free. No appointment needed, and you can stay in your car to be tested. Results are in five to seven days with positive cases prioritized for notification.
This story was originally published September 17, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
