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Public health experts have criticized states such as Texas and Mississippi for rejecting mask warrants this week at a critical time in the nation’s pandemic.
But they also warn of another threat to the hard-fought gains in recent weeks – the number of Americans tested for the coronavirus has dropped significantly since January.
While the slowdown in testing may be the result of fewer infections, it could also indicate that too many Americans are becoming more complacent as the second year of COVID-19 advances and millions get vaccinated. every week.
Testing remains a critical part of the COVID-19 control effort, along with the wearing of masks, social distancing, avoiding congested indoor areas, and hand hygiene. While officials are optimistic the vaccines will offer protection, some warn the nation may let its guard down before enough Americans are protected from the virus.
“A lot of people are just done with the pandemic,” said Mary K. Hayden, professor of internal medicine and pathology at Rush Medical College in Chicago.
In January, labs and other testing sites performed an average of nearly 1.9 million tests each day, with cases reaching record levels. Average daily tests fell to 1.5 million in February and to 1.3 million so far in March, according to figures from the COVID Tracking Project.
Hayden said the nation’s testing had never reached levels that public health officials deemed “adequate or optimal” to control the virus.
“We never really got there,” said Hayden, a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. “And now we are falling.”
Testing decreases, social distancing makes it easier
Testing was hard to come by when the first major outbreaks appeared last spring in the Seattle and New York metropolitan areas. The country has gradually developed its capabilities with private labs, and now the United States can test over 2 million each day.
This current slump is not the first time Americans have sought fewer tests. In the summer, tests dropped in several southern states before cases returned.
Daily cases still exceed late summer and fall levels, but fewer people in recent weeks have likely been exposed to the virus compared to the peak in January. This means that fewer people experience symptoms that force them to get tested.
As the pandemic enters year two, people are less willing to get tested for the virus, Hayden said. Earlier in the pandemic, people sought testing even though they had no symptoms or mild symptoms because they were worried about the virus. Now, based on anecdotal reports, it appears that fewer non-symptomatic people are being tested, she said.
Another factor: Public health agencies are focusing their limited resources on immunizing more Americans. Former large test sites, such as Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and State Farm Stadium near Phoenix, have turned into mass vaccination sites.
As tests decline, public health officials are concerned about recent steps the state government has taken to facilitate social distancing.
The governors of Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Montana and Iowa have said masks are no longer needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Of those five states, data from Johns Hopkins University shows that Montana’s only positive test ratio over the past week is below 5%, the threshold recommended by the World Health Organization before reopening.
While local governments and private businesses can make their own choices about wearing masks in public places, such as restaurants, eliminating state mask warrants, and allowing more than people congregating inside are undermining virus control strategies that have been critical in reducing the spread of COVID-19, said Romney Humphries, professor of pathology, microbiology and immunology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
She said loosening social distancing contributes to “a global culture of the pandemic that is dissipating” and may convince some people that testing is less important.
“All of these things create a feeling for the public that the pandemic is over,” Humphries said. “This is by no means true.”
Only 21% of adults had received at least one dose of the vaccine as of Thursday, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Four in five American adults have not been vaccinated.
Even those who have only received a single dose of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine are not fully protected. With the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine bolstering the country’s vaccine supplies, President Joe Biden has said there should be enough doses for every American by the end of May.
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Dr. Rebecca Weintraub, assistant professor in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, said people are not fully protected until two weeks after receiving both doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines.
And although the initial data is positive, it is still unclear whether the vaccine prevents the spread of the virus from one immune person to others.
“What we do know is that the virus is circulating in our communities,” Weintraub said. “And so one of the most effective ways to figure out whether I am infected or might be infected is to get tested.”
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The College of American Pathologists said members have noted a “significant decrease” in the number of tests at health care facilities nationwide.
In the Seattle subway, tests have dropped alongside new cases. At the University of Washington lab, testing was ramped up in late fall. Today, testing is about half of this fall’s peak, said Geoffrey Baird, acting president of laboratory medicine and pathology at the University of Washington.
The rollout of the vaccine is a pivotal time that Baird and others are watching. If vaccination efforts slow down, if more states relax mask mandates and new variants gain traction, it could lead to another big spike in cases, Baird said.
“All of us in the testing industry are wondering what’s going to happen in the next two months,” he said.
Hayden said the public must remain vigilant even as more people get vaccinated.
“Although the infection rates are much lower, they are still high,” Hayden said. “I don’t think we’re yet in a place where we can really relax our overall strategies and cut back on testing.”
Contributor: Karen Weintraub
Contact Ken Alltucker at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID Testing Slows Down Amid Vaccines: Why Doctors Are Worried
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