Keep testing, county urges

As focus shifts to vaccines, officials encourage continued screening

As the focus shifts from testing to vaccines, Yuma County officials reminded residents and visitors of the importance of continued COVID-19 testing.

During the Board of Supervisors meeting on Feb. 17, Chairman Tony Reyes stressed the need for continual testing as a community. He noted that people might only take a test if they feel sick so they can know whether they have the coronavirus.

However, Reyes pointed out, people need to get tested even if they don’t feel sick “so we know.” Someone could be a superspreader and not know it because they have no symptoms. Testing is a way to protect others.

Also, he said, someone could have tested negative one week and positive the next week because of the incubation period. Even if the test comes back negative, the person will know they don’t have it.

Reyes also noted that testing is an important part of the contact tracing that is still being done by county health workers.

“The part that is missing sometimes when we talk about testing is the tracing part. People are not focused enough on the tracing part. Testing is supposed to identify people that you want to trace. It’s a very critical part of the spread of the virus,” Reyes said.

“If you do not do testing and locate people that are positive, there’s no way to actually identify that individual and follow through and see who he has been in contact with,” he added. “It’s not just identifying who has it so they know. It’s also so we know when and where some of these situations are developing.”

Tony Badilla, the county’s emergency management director, confirmed that on occasion some people who get tested don’t know they have COVID-19 until their test comes back positive.

Reyes reiterated that someone can have the virus and not feel anything. “You could be a spreader and not know it. How are you going to know it if you’re not getting tested? Testing continues to be an important part of our fight against this virus. We need people to continue getting tested,” Reyes said.

“People show up to work, they don’t know they have it. They interact with a number of people in the office and pretty soon we have a hot spot,” he added.

COST INCONSISTENCY

Reyes again addressed the inconsistencies when it comes to the cost of testing. Providers can charge

an administrative fee to those taking the test, and if an individual has insurance, the insurance company will be charged for it.

But if a person doesn’t have insurance, the cost could become a barrier from getting tested for some people, Reyes said.

And what one person considers a reasonable cost might be out of reach for another, he noted.

Reyes asked Badilla and Diana Gomez, director of the Yuma County Public Health Services District, to keep an eye on the cost of testing.

As for the COVID-19 vaccine, Gomez said the inoculation should be completely free for the public. Even if people have insurance, they shouldn’t be charged a copay.

Providers are receiving the vaccine at no charge and administrative fees should be charged directly to the insurance company. If an individual doesn’t have insurance, the provider will be reimbursed by the federal government.

Reyes lamented that the county has no control over administrative fees for testing. Although the county can’t set the fees, he said the county can at least be a clearinghouse where people can find details on testing sites and fees so they can make an informed decision. He pointed out that some places offer free testing.

He acknowledged that providers have the right to charge a fee, but he stated: “They should be cognizant that if they charge too much, it’s a barrier for some people to do this, especially if they don’t have insurance. They will be afraid to get tested at a place that charges $60 or $100 as opposed to getting a free test.”

Gomez noted that as vaccines increase, the testing volume has been decreasing, but she agreed that until everyone gets vaccinated, which will take a while, testing is still important.

Supervisor Jonathan Lines said that he has been getting calls from people who need to get tested before traveling and asked what the turnaround time is for testing. Gomez replied that a standard test takes around 24 to 48 hours and a rapid test is back in 15 minutes.

Gomez asked for continued patience from the public as the vaccination effort continues.

“We’re moving as fast as we can,” Reyes added.