Long-term care facilities don’t have enough access to testing in order to meet the federal government’s weekly COVID-19 testing recommendations, according to a new report released by Democrats with the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions.
The Trump administration issued the recommendation for universal testing at long-term care facilities in May. It calls on nursing homes to test all residents, once a suspected case is realized, on a continued weekly basis until all residents are negative. All staff members should be tested weekly, the administration added.
States and lab companies, however, have found that there are significant limits on the number of tests available in order to reach and sustain this level of testing. They are skeptical that leaders and providers can meet the federal testing standards, the report noted.
“Many states are not able to meet the recommended testing levels in congregate care settings and are working to detect outbreaks with less frequent testing,” report authors explained. “Only one state reported being in a ‘pretty good’ place with testing all staff and residents at congregate settings, although some other states were hopeful about the monitoring systems they have in place.”
The report recommends that the federal government establish testing guidance for facilities that accurately reflect continued testing shortages. Officials also should develop strategies that reflect current testing capacity to prevent disease outbreaks, authors said.
“Such strategies should incorporate recommendations for testing frequency for both residents and staff. While the supply of tests remains limited, state and federal entities should prioritize tests for facilities that are experiencing active outbreaks,” the report urged.
