Joshua Panas
Updated: July 23, 2020 06:30 PM
Created: July 23, 2020 05:25 PM
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.- The increase in COVID-19 cases in New Mexico means more testing. But that is creating its own challenges. Wednesday, hospital systems in the state announced they will only be testing symptomatic people. It is an effort to preserve resources.
It is all part of supply and demand, due to rising cases around the nation there are some shortages, specifically with the testing chemicals. Official with TriCore Reference Labs the temporary change will ensure tests are available for those who need it.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, it’s been a merry-go-round of supply chain challenges,” said Dr. Karissa Culbreath, Medical Director for Infectious Disease at TriCore. “You may remember, it was April or May we were having issues finding the swabs to collect the samples. Now it’s the challenge of the actual testing supplies, the actual chemicals and materials that use to tell if there’s actual coronavirus in the sample.”
Culbreath said since March they’ve processed around 250,000 tests in the state, nearly 50% of the state’s total tests.
“The first fix, it starts with us,” said Culbreath. “So anyone who said they want to do something to help the lab, now is the time, the few cases we have, the few exposures we have, the fewer times people have to go out and do contact tracing because there was a large exposure, those are fewer tests that we have to use.”
She says the shortage shouldn’t impact turnaround time, which is about 72 hours for TriCore.
New Mexico Department of Health officials also say they are aware of the shortages. But added, “it remains to be seen how it will change testing capacity, the agency remains committed to testing everyone humanly possible.”
