Testing is deadly serious, not a joking matter
As new coronavirus cases soar to near crisis levels in Texas, the Trump administration is inexplicably planning to end federal support for local testing sites across the nation, including four in Houston and Harris County, among seven total in the state.
Key Democratic and Republican leaders in the state are right to push back against what is clearly a short-sighted and wrongheaded decision to curtail crucial testing that will help hospitals and doctors battle a virus that has already infected almost 2.5 million Americans and caused more than 120,000 deaths.
The administration must extend support for the testing sites at least until this latest spike is under control and enough testing is being done to project a downward path.
The move to withdraw support is especially troubling in light of recent statements by President Donald Trump that he had urged health officials to “slow the testing down” to reduce the number of cases being reported to the public.
Some suggested that the president was “only kidding” when he made that statement in a rally over the weekend in Tulsa, Okla. But Trump made it clear on Tuesday that he was serious about the approach.
“I don’t kid,” he told reporters who questioned him about the claim.
“We have got the greatest testing program anywhere in the world,” he said. “We test better than anybody in the world. Our tests are the best in the world, and we have the most of them. By having more tests, we find more cases.”
Yes, that’s the point of testing. But what’s the point in trying to trick the public? The spread doesn’t stop, the illness doesn’t stop, the death doesn’t stop just because the government decides to stop measuring it.
Instead, under-counting cases leads to a false sense of security among the public and makes it more difficult for public health officials to plan for the consequences of the disease.
Writing to Deputy Surgeon General Erica Schwartz in a letter dated June 20, Dr. Umair A. Shah, executive director of Harris County Public Health, stressed the urgency of a “full commitment” and “continued support” for the testing sites through FEMA.
“Harris County is the third most populous county in the United States with a population of 4.7 million and is also home to the largest uninsured population in Texas,” Shah wrote. “With respect to COVID-19, our region has seen a large increase in COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions, and ICU saturation over the last few weeks. If these trends occur, it is clear our current health care system could soon be overwhelmed by this pandemic.”
Shah urged that the test sites remain open through the end of August.
In a separate letter to Schwartz, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Dr. David Persse, the health authority of the city of Houston, warned of “catastrophic cascading consequences in the region’s ability to adequately test” if the centers lose FEMA support.
The state reported nearly 5,200 new cases on Tuesday, surpassing the previous high of 4,600 on Friday, according to a data analysis by Hearst Newspapers. The weekly rolling average hit 3,722 new cases per day, up from about 1,500 two weeks ago. Texas’ infection rate has doubled since late May.
“Now is the time to be ramping up our testing capabilities, not slowing it down,” said U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, a Houston Democrat who organized the drafting of a letter to the heads of FEMA and Health and Human Services on Tuesday. Houston Democratic U.S. Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee, Al Green and Lizzie Fletcher also signed the letter.
U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, both Republicans, backed extending FEMA support for the testing sites through June when it was due to end in
April.
A spokesperson for Cruz said he “has urged and will continue to urge HHS and FEMA to extend the community testing sites in Texas.”
Cornyn said Wednesday that “now is not a time to retreat from our vigilance in testing.”
“I believe that they need to extend that federal support in Texas, at least until we get this most recent uptick in cases addressed,” he said in a call with reporters.
It is not the time to remove a crucial tool in controlling a deadly disease. The administration must reverse course again and make a commitment to supporting a widespread and thorough testing protocol.
It is not a joking matter. It’s deadly serious.