With the continued rise in the Delta variant, efficient and readily available COVID-19 testing in Spokane County may no longer be a guarantee.
Previously, local providers such as CHAS offered drive-through tests at the Spokane Arena, then at the Spokane Community College along with vaccines. But those mass sites closed earlier this summer when demand for the vaccines dwindled and case numbers dropped significantly.
Then, in the last month, the Delta variant led to a massive and now sustained surge in COVID activity and therefore the demand for test resources increased not just locally but nationwide. Health care providers are still offering testing, but not on a large scale, in part due to staffing constraints affecting hospitals and health systems across the country, said Spokane County’s Interim Health Officer Dr. Francisco Velazquez, told reporters on Wednesday.
Simply put, the demand for testing, driven primarily by rising local COVID-19 cases and places requiring evidence of a negative test for unvaccinated individuals, has started to exceed the capacities of some local and regional health services.
According to Walgreens’ online scheduling system, there are no COVID-19 PCR or rapid test appointments available on Friday or Saturday in Spokane County. Rite-Aid’s earliest appointment in Spokane County for any type of COVID-19 test is next Thursday, according to its online appointment system.
Walgreens and Rite Aid are listed by the Spokane Regional Health District as low-cost or free trial providers for those without insurance. Family Medicine Liberty Lake runs COVID-19 tests that are covered by commercial insurance with a doctor’s recommendation to get tested or $ 125 without a doctor’s recommendation.
Family Medicine Liberty Lake was added to the list of locations offering COVID-19 testing on the Spokane Regional Health District website this week. According to a doctor’s assistant at the practice, family medicine has been running a lot of COVID tests in the past few days, especially on patients who have been turned away by larger providers.
The Spokane Regional Health District recently asked the Department of Health for resources to open a mass testing facility. However, this support may be slow in coming due to national demand.
“We’re not the only ones who might be asking for resources, and resources are really scarce right now,” said Velazquez.
The local health care provider CHAS had already limited COVID-19 tests to established patients due to high demand, but announced on Thursday that it will also no longer perform COVID-19 tests in its two emergency facilities until September 12 and the opening times of the Overall facility will shorten. The rationale is more complex and worrying than just a lack of supplies or resources.
Kelley Charvet, chief administrative officer at CHAS Health, said the decision was made primarily because of complex, sick patients accessing the emergency clinics due to long waits in the area’s emergency rooms. CHAS had to weigh testing against caring for these patients, Charvet said.
Established patients can still schedule an appointment with their CHAS provider and receive a COVID-19 test during this time if their non-urgent care facilities recommend it.
Charvet said there had been no discussions or plans to open large CHAS-operated testing facilities at any location in the community in the near future.
The situation has challenged both Spokane residents and organizations.
Recovery Café Spokane, a non-profit arm of community-minded Enterprises that helps drug and alcohol addicts recover, had an employee tested positive for COVID-19 last week.
As part of his security protocol, the room was closed and everyone at the Recovery Café was given a negative test before everyone returned to personal work. It was not easy for some to get a test.
“One employee said she was having a hard time getting a test,” said Traci Logan-Demus, chief human resources officer at Community-Minded Enterprises. “She went to several and they told her they couldn’t give her a test because she wasn’t one of their regular customers.”
All exposed employees could eventually get a test, said Logan-Demus.
Despite high local and national demand, Spokane Public Schools can run a similar COVID-19 testing program as last year, according to spokeswoman Sandra Jarrard.
Jarrard said COVID-19 tests will soon be available for free to students. SPA will also implement contact tracking, systems that notify families when an employee or student tests positive, and an online dashboard that can be used to view the number of quarantines and cases in the school system.
The test situation also affected people planning trips or events. Joshua Barber, a Spokane Valley resident, said he would have to go to Yakima in mid-August to have a test for his unvaccinated 8-year-old child and hoped they would get the results back soon enough for his family to have a flight to Hawaii for a trip they spent thousands of dollars on.
Hawaii requires unvaccinated travelers to test negative within 72 hours from an approved carrier. They barely made the flight but will not travel until their son is vaccinated.
It is unclear when the state will be able to provide more testing material or personnel to the local health districts.
Supply chain restrictions and high demand mean the state is working with multiple vendors to get more test supplies.
“We are aware that this occurs in many communities and we are working hard to bring more test material from various sources into the state,” Nate Weed, acting deputy health minister, told reporters on Thursday.
