Nashville, Den. (WTVF) – The state of Tennessee, despite exploding the Govt-19 cases in an unprecedented manner, plans to quickly scrutinize the tests provided by local government-run health departments next week, News Channel 5 learned.
Employees in the Tennessee health department have been told that local health departments will prioritize vaccine distribution over testing. Government Bill Lee has personally approved the project.
Epidemiologists are concerned about this plan.
“Right now, there are a lot of disease cases all over the state of Tennessee, and we’ve been able to detect the activity of that disease to some extent through aggressive testing,” said Dr. David Aronoff, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the Vanderbilt School of Medicine.
“So, if the scales are re-tested, if we start to see tests that reflect less people, if we have to test the wrong people, I’m worried that it might get the wrong sense of security.”
Currently, most local health departments offer COVID testing five days a week, with professional staff collecting samples.
Under the program, the COVID-19 test will be reduced to Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Reducing the test in the face of record increases in COVID-19 cases can be confusing, especially when the Christmas holidays trigger the same upsurge as Thanksgiving. I hope Governor Lee will reconsider this decision. Testing and masks are still important to control COVID19. https://t.co/Z3vk1buJiT
– James EK Hildreth (ames James EK Hildreth) December 15, 2020
Vaccine delivery will take place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays – Tennysonians who wish to be tested are provided with Everwell home collection tools on those days. With home collection tools, individuals collect clothes themselves and send them to a lab.
However, they have been told that the items in those home collection kits are in short supply.
With Tennessee having more than 10,000 new cases in two days in a row, doing “scale back testing” is now 100% crazy. How are these decisions made now? https://t.co/biHagfP6WY
– Jeff Yorboro (ar Yorboro) December 14, 2020
Tennessee Health Department spokeswoman Shelley Walker did not deny any of the remarks made by state health department staff. News Channel 5 investigates.
“Any announcements about planned changes to the test schedules will be made by the health department in the future, but I can tell you that free testing will continue to be available in government-run health departments five days a week,” Walker said in an email.
“As you know, most COVID-19 tests in Tennessee are conducted by private providers, and no change in the State Department will affect that availability.
“In our response, with the government now linking vaccine distribution, it is imperative that we make department staff available to help distribute the vaccine to Tennesseans.
However, Aronoff warned, “Tennessee is one of the most active states in the United States for disease activity. Our hospitals are overcrowded with patients suffering from COVID-19.
“If we don’t take the ball off and look at how the disease is behaving in our state, it could have serious consequences for how well we are prepared to go in the winter.”
Independent health departments, such as those in Tennessee’s largest cities, will not be affected by the program.
Late Monday, the Tennessee Department of Health released the following press release:
Nashville, Den. – The Tennessee Health Department Govt-19 testing sites across the state will begin offering self-testing kits to adults three days a week, December 21, allowing employees to be vaccinated by leading health care providers and first responders. Local district health departments do not want to charge for the COVID-19 test five days a week.
“We are developing this shift so our healthcare staff can help manage safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines,” said Lisa Pierce, MD, MBA, FAAP, Tennessee Health Commissioner. “State-run health departments currently collect only an average of 16 percent of all COVID-19 trials nationwide, and our change will not affect widespread testing by private suppliers in Tennessee. We need to continue to protect each other by being obedient and staying at home when we are sick. ”
The new COVID-19 self-tests will be offered to adults on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from December 21st. These days, members of the public health service at each TDH COVID-19 testing site must be tested for providing self-testing equipment to adults of choice. Individuals complete paperwork on their vehicles and collect their samples. Health departments will submit samples for testing.
Adults who have been tested with new self-tests will register online and receive their results. Self-examination is not approved for use in children under 18 years of age. Children and adults who are unable to register online can receive standard COVID-19 tests with a standard nasal swab on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Test results may be available within 72 hours of arrival at the laboratory, depending on the number of tests the laboratory receives. After the test the participants will be informed about what they can expect at the test sites. This information is also available online www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/health/documents/cedep/novel-coronavirus/TestedGuidance.pdf [tn.gov].
The COVID-19 test is widely available in Tennessee from local health departments and other health care providers. Map of COVID-19 test sites available across the state www.tn.gov/content/tn/health/cedep/ncov/remote-assessment-sites.html [tn.gov]. Operating hours and contact information are provided for each site.
DTH District Health Departments will be closed on December 24 – 25 and December 31, 2020 – January 1, 2021 ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays.