Testing supply shortage limits who can get a COVID-19 test

Concerns about access to testing remain high as more and more positive cases of COVID-19 are announced across Southwest Florida and the United States.

Florida Governor Ron Desantis said Wednesday that swabs used to collect samples were in short supply.  On Thursday, he said the swabs were starting to trickle into the state.

But, the swabs are not the only testing supply in high demand and Florida is not the only state with this issue.

RNA extraction kits needed for analysis are also in short supply, according to Carmen Wiley the Chief Medical Officer for the Veravas, a laboratory medicine company.

Wiley, who is also President for the American Association of Clinical Chemistry, said all credentialed laboratories and hospitals in the United States have emergency preparedness plans.

“I think to be perfectly honest the amount of supplies that were needed have caught everyone off guard,” she said.

Wiley said this is why doctors are ordering tests based on CDC guidelines, to those at high risk.

“We have to use the materials we have judiciously”

You can watch more of Wiley’s interview with WINK News Investigative Reporter Lauren Sweeney above.