\"Access to testing is really the major tool we have right now to fight this new coronavirus,\" says Dr. Keith Jerome, who runs a University of Washington lab in Seattle that can now test for the virus. Jonathan Hamilton\/NPR hide caption <\/p>\n
\"Access to testing is really the major tool we have right now to fight this new coronavirus,\" says Dr. Keith Jerome, who runs a University of Washington lab in Seattle that can now test for the virus.<\/p>\n
It's been a busy week at the virology lab run by UW Medicine, which includes the University of Washington's medical school and hospitals.<\/p>\n
\"We've already gone to three shifts,\" says Dr. Keith Jerome, a professor in the department of laboratory medicine who runs the lab. \"People are going to be here basically all the time.\"<\/p>\n
The lab is processing about 100 coronavirus tests a day. But it's prepared to do more than 1,000 a day immediately and could quickly increase that to 4,000, Jerome says.<\/p>\n
The demand for tests is rising. Seattle is at the center of a coronavirus outbreak that has already claimed the lives of 10 people in Washington state.<\/p>\n
One reason the lab is ready to test lots of people is its state-of-the-art equipment, including twin devices that extract genetic material from specimens.<\/p>\n
\"That all happens robotically,\" Jerome says, as he gives me a tour of the lab's testing area. \"You can see the arms here moving back and forth. This robot is working on 96 specimens at a time. We have two of them. This is part of the magic of moving so many specimens through this laboratory.\"<\/p>\n
In another area of the lab is a room full of instruments that take bits of genetic material from a virus and make millions of copies. That's critical for detecting an infection, Jerome says.<\/p>\n
\"Right now this is our limiting factor,\" he says, adding that they've already asked to borrow more of the instruments from other labs affiliated with the university.<\/p>\n
But the lab's readiness also is the result of months of planning.<\/p>\n
Jerome and other virologists started the process in January, after hearing reports about the coronavirus outbreak in China.<\/p>\n
\"Our opinion was, this is probably not going to be a problem, this is probably going to be a waste of our effort and some money, but we owe it to the people of our area to be prepared,\" he says.<\/p>\n
So the scientists developed an assay and began using it test specimens sent in for research purposes.<\/p>\n
At first, the tests found no infections, says Dr. Alex Greninger, the lab's assistant director. Then, on Feb. 28, one came back positive. <\/p>\n
\"That was on Friday at 4 p.m.,\" he says. \"And then Saturday morning the FDA came out with a new regulation that allowed us to perform testing.\"<\/p>\n
The change at the Food and Drug Administration was a new policy that allowed sophisticated labs like the one at UW Medicine to develop and use their own coronavirus tests before the agency had reviewed them. <\/p>\n
On Monday and Tuesday, the lab quietly began accepting specimens for clinical use and preparing for high-volume testing.<\/p>\n
\"It was intense,\" Greninger says, adding that he and colleagues were working past midnight to make sure the system functioned properly.<\/p>\n
But the hard part wasn't the testing itself, Greninger says, but the logistics.<\/p>\n
For example, \"how many swabs you're going to take from each patient, how you're going to handle sending results and samples to the state public health lab,\" he says.<\/p>\n
Then on Wednesday, Jerome and Greninger held a press conference to announce that the lab was officially open for business.<\/p>\n
Now they are expecting an avalanche of specimens. And that's a good thing, Jerome says.<\/p>\n
\"Access to testing is really the major tool we have right now to fight this new coronavirus,\" he says<\/p>\n
Even with the lab's increased capacity, though, testing remains limited to people who have symptoms including fever and a dry cough.<\/p>\n
\"My goal is everyone who needs a test can get one,\" Jerome says. \"And that might be different than everyone who wants a test.\"<\/p>\n
Local doctors say the lab will make a huge difference. <\/p>\n
\"It's a game changer,\" says Dr. Seth Cohen, medical director for infection prevention at UW Medical Center Northwest. \"Previously when we would send those tests to the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] in Atlanta it was taking three to five days to get those tests back.\" <\/p>\n
Now results often come back the same day. And that means doctors and hospitals can focus resources on the patients who are truly infected.<\/p>\n
Conserving scarce resources will become critical if the coronavirus continues to spread, Cohen says. <\/p>\n
\"We did not plan on being at the epicenter of one of the outbreaks in the United States,\" Cohen says. \"And we are preparing for the worst.\"<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Follow this link: \"Access to testing is really the major tool we have right now to fight this new coronavirus,\" says Dr. Keith Jerome, who runs a University of Washington lab in Seattle that can now test for the virus. Jonathan Hamilton\/NPR hide caption \"Access to testing is really the major tool we have right now to fight this new coronavirus,\" says Dr Continue reading
\nCoronavirus Tests: Lab At University Of Washington Was Ready : Shots - Health News - NPR<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"