Without testing, there is no way to keep track of where the pandemic is headed and whether vaccines are working. And there is no way to use one of the most important tools to fight infectious diseases: contact detection.
“It will help us track the real impact. Do we really see a decline in business?” she said. Testing can also help detect variants.
According to data from The COVID Tracking Project, the US has recorded an average of about 1.5 million Covid-19 tests per day in recent days.
This is about 26% less than the average in mid-January, when the US reached a seven-day high of more than 2 million tests reported on 15 January. The rate started to rise again, but only slightly.
She added that although infection rates have dropped, they are still high, and in some places higher than in summer.
Daily community profile reports from the White House Covid-19 team tracked various indicators, including testing.
In terms of test rates, a daily average of seven days of at least five tests for every 100 people is ideal. But in a report published this week, only five states reach the threshold over a seven-day period and fall into the ‘dark green’ category: Rhode Island, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York and Alaska.
Eight states were in the “red” or “dark red”, meaning there was less than one test for every 100 people. States in this category were Oklahoma, Missouri, South Dakota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, California, and Georgia.
With the current spread of contagion, Hayden said she does not think the country is in a place where it can relax overall strategies and reduce testing.
Testing is also an important tool for reasons beyond diagnostics, including determining quarantine requirements and detecting the evolution of the pandemic, Humphries said.
“I think one of the most beautiful messages is to the public: if you have symptoms, it’s so important that you go in to be tested and determine if you’re positive or not,” Humphries said.
What is seen in laboratories and from data, according to Humphries, is a decrease in the number of people coming in to be tested based on symptoms.
What happens in ‘red’ and ‘dark red’ states
According to federal data, California has had one of the largest declines in test rates since mid-January. The state health department said the test volume had decreased for the fifth consecutive week. The average of seven days decreased to about 181,000 tests per day from about 230,000 tests per day.
The California Department of Public Health has asked labs highlighting a decline in orders for PCR testing over the past few weeks and found that supply was not a factor. On the contrary, people are simply not tested.
In Oklahoma, people are simply not looking for testing, Travis Kirkpatrick, deputy commissioner at the Oklahoma State Department of Health, told CNN.
He attributed this to several factors, including a high vaccination rate in the state, warmer weather and declining hospitalization and cases. Kirkpatrick also believes his state is experiencing Covid fatigue.
“We have continued to offer tests. We continue to find ways to expand tests,” he said. “There are all sorts of ways we try to continue testing from a policy point of view, from a public health point of view and then present it. But the lack of test numbers, I think we attribute a lot more to appetite than anything. otherwise. ”
It is not yet time to sound alarm bells, Kirkpatrick said, but his department is careful that people think they do not need to be tested. He said Oklahoma would continue to invest in testing, calling it the best tool for surveillance.
How the “dark green” states get there
In Vermont, one of five states where testing is still high, the emphasis on contact detection is a big help, said Tracy Dolan, deputy commissioner for public health at the Department of Health in Vermont.
In addition, testing is being used to quarantine people earlier, Dolan told CNN.
“Early on, we created a number of policies that were more aggressive than the CDC,” she said.
“The state has a strict travel quarantine policy, and the best way to get out is to test early. It definitely encourages people.”
Vermont also preferred testing from the start, Dolan said, making it widely available and free. Most venues in Vermont are within a 30 minute drive of a test venue and most venues are open seven days a week. The state draws in extra resources if there are outbreaks, and has a “steady” oversight testing.
Local health officials promote testing through targeted social media if there is an increase in cases and communities and leaders have supported the test from the beginning, Dolan said.