KY gets COVID-19 testing capacity boost with new machines that process results in minutes
Kentucky has received more than a dozen portable COVID-19 testing machines capable of producing results in a matter of minutes, significantly expanding the state’s otherwise limited testing capacity.
Kentucky Department for Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said Thursday afternoon that the state had acquired 15 of the coveted Abbott Laboratories ID Now machines, which are capable of processing novel coronavirus tests and producing results in five or 10 minutes.
The sweeping impact of the machines, however, will be blunted, at least initially, as the state has only received 120 corresponding rapid tests.
Stack said the state has already ordered another 1,680 tests, but “just because we request them, doesn’t mean we will get them.”
In the meantime, “Until we get the test kits, the machines are of limited use,” he said.
“The federal government procurement process places limits on how much we can request and get,” Stack said, adding that the state hasn’t yet determined “where we will deploy these units.”
Late last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave emergency authorization to the portable Abbott Labs machines, which are currently the fastest point-of-care tests in the country for novel coronavirus.
U.S. Congressman Andy Barr, R-Kentucky, said on Wednesday he told the governor’s office late last week the machines were on their way, after he got confirmation from Dr. Tammy Beckham, director of Office of Infectious Disease Policy at the U.S. Department for Health and Human Services, that 15 machines and 120 tests had been earmarked for Kentucky.
HHS spokesperson Mia Heck told the New York Times last week that the department was sending 15 machines each to public health labs in all 50 states,” another 20 to the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and 50 to the Strategic National Stockpile, a national repository of medical supplies and drugs accessible to states during public health crises.
A potential testing game changer, the toaster-sized testing machines produce results in about five or 10 minutes, and the negatives, a few minutes later. Though it’s still contingent on adequate supplies to collect the testing samples, including the testing kits, access to these machines means hospitals and health care clinics could get lab results in-house, almost immediately.
By the end of last week, Abbott Labs had shipped more than 190,000 rapid tests to customers in 21 states, a spokeswoman said on Thursday. Abbott is currently producing 50,000 tests each day, she said.
More than 30 labs are currently processing COVID-19 tests across Kentucky, but the amount of time each lab needs to produce results varies widely, from a day to at least a week, sometimes two. That’s in large part because demand outpaces capacity. At least 21,620 Kentuckians have so far been tested for the virus, and at least 1,591 have been infected.
“If you don’t have adequate access to tests, you’re blind,” said Dr. Mark Dougherty, infectious disease specialist and Baptist Health Lexington epidemiologist. “You cannot contain a pandemic if you don’t know who’s infected and who isn’t.”
Limited testing capacity, supplies to perform those tests, such as swabs, and a rapidly depleting supply of personal protective equipment, like gowns, masks, gloves and face shields, have been some of Kentucky’s biggest obstacles in leveling its response to the virus.
To err on the side of caution, because health care providers don’t know who is infected and who isn’t, protective gear is being used much more liberally.
“One of the big issues is we don’t have enough PPE, [and] by not having rapid access to testing, we’ve been burning through it,” Dougherty said.
Expedited tests would not only increase the number of people tested, but it will eventually broaden the standards for who can get tested. Right now, that threshold is high; the state has to reserve its limited number of tests for the sickest COVID-19 patients and those who care for them.
On Tuesday, a few days after Beshear announced Gravity Diagnostics in Northern Kentucky would be processing 2,000 tests a day for the state, in coordination with 32 hospitals, Dr. Stack reminded people that even though the uptick helps, it’s still not enough. The qualifying testing threshold remains the same: a person has to be over the age of 60, or exhibit acute COVID-19 symptoms, including a fever, shortness of breath, cough or diarrhea. Health care workers and first responders are also prioritized for testing, as is anyone who lives in a congregate setting, like a prison or nursing home. If there are still testing kits leftover, people with chronic medical problems then get priority, Stack said.
Dr. Ryan Stanton, a Lexington emergency room physician, said giving hospitals access to the rapid Abbott tests would allow them to “open up the floodgates” for who gets tested.
Widespread testing wouldn’t necessarily change how hospital patients with COVID-19 are treated, or how those positive cases are required to self-quarantine if they’re well enough to stay home, Stanton said. But it could assist in is better charting the virus’ features.
For example, beyond painting a more accurate picture of just how many people are infected in Kentucky, broad testing could lend credence to the wide array of symptoms one can exhibit with the coronavirus — including none at all. The template of symptoms in those infected has already started to shift since the virus first reached Kentucky: some positive cases are having gastrointestinal issues, headaches and dizziness with COVID-19, Louisville Public Health Strategist Dr. Sarah Moyer said last week.
Abundant testing could also better protect the most vulnerable populations who have the highest chances of dying from COVID-19, such as allowing asymptomatic nursing home to get tested regularly for coronavirus, as a screening mechanism. In other words, using testing not just as a reactive measure for those who already have symptoms, but a proactive one, for those who don’t.
This story was originally published April 9, 2020 at 5:43 PM.
