Name: Some Test Iowa COVID-19 samples were 'potentially damaged,' governor's office confirms
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Some Test Iowa COVID-19 samples were 'potentially damaged,' governor's office confirms

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Des Moines RegisterView CommentsSome coronavirus test samples collected under&nbsp;the Test Iowa&nbsp;program cannot&nbsp;be processed because they were “potentially damaged,” resulting in incomplete results.Pat Garrett, a spokesman for Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, said Thursday that&nbsp;"a very small percentage" of people were affected. Neither he nor officials with the Iowa Department of Public Health provided more specific information.Some Iowans told the Des Moines Register&nbsp;they’ve been waiting nearly two weeks for coronavirus test results from program. The governor acknowledged a backlog in processing results earlier this week but said that&nbsp;.“I think we’re caught up,” Reynolds said&nbsp;Thursday when asked about&nbsp;outstanding test results. "... But if you haven't received yours for some reason, just call the office and we can help facilitate that."About two hours later, Garrett acknowledged that some people won’t get results telling them whether they tested positive for the coronavirus because their samples were “potentially damaged.”Garrett did not explain what led some samples to be potentially damaged, but he described it as common in coronavirus testing.“A very small percentage of individuals are going to receive a direct notice that their test sample is potentially damaged,” he said in a statement. “We will notify these individuals and they will be offered the opportunity to retest at their convenience at any site that’s open at any time. These situations are not unique to Test Iowa, and it’s common among all testing for COVID19.”Emily Bednar, a nurse in the Des Moines area, was among those Iowans who was tested for the coronavirus at a Test Iowa site on April 25. She showed documentation to the Register that showed her confirmed test date, as well as subsequent emails from Test Iowa organizers. None referenced any potential problem or delay.On Thursday, nearly two weeks later, she was still waiting for her results.&nbsp;Bednar said she spoke with someone from the Iowa Department of Public Health earlier in the week, who told Bednar that the agency did not have a way to check her test status.“I'm just frustrated that I feel like I went through this process thinking I could help be part of the solution for the state, and I've got zero answers," she said.&nbsp;"No one can tell me where my test is or what the result was.”The Register later contacted&nbsp;Bednar about the possibility that she may have been among the group whose lab samples were potentially damaged. Bednar said the lack of communication from the state was the most troubling&nbsp;aspect.“It shouldn’t have to be a newspaper reporter’s job to find out what happened to people’s test results,” she said.Reynolds first acknowledged last week, shortly after the Register reported that some health care workers had not received their results.“For Iowans who are still waiting for their&nbsp;results, we are sorry for the delay,” she said at the time.Reynolds said that Iowans would get their pending results by the end of last&nbsp;weekend.&nbsp;Later, Reynolds said the backlog would be addressed .The State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa, the state facility conducting most coronavirus&nbsp;testing in Iowa, has been&nbsp;housing the Test Iowa laboratory operations.&nbsp;Stephen&nbsp;Pradarelli, a spokesman for the facility, also said the backlog had been addressed.“SHL caught up on its Test Iowa backlog Tuesday,” Pradarelli wrote in an email.&nbsp;Pradarelli directed additional questions to the governor’s office.Among those waiting for their results is Maiga Van Haalen, a dental hygienist who lives in Pleasant Hill&nbsp;and was tested at the first Test Iowa Des Moines site on April 25.&nbsp;As of Thursday, she was still waiting for results.Van Haalen shared documentation with the Register that shows she was among the first tested under the program.On Thursday, Van Haalen said she is mostly disappointed that Test Iowa organizers have not contacted her.“You have to have accountability measures in place to identify who was impacted,” she said.Other Iowans who were tested through the Test Iowa program have received results&nbsp;that raised questions.Sally Knox, a registered nurse who works in Des Moines, shared&nbsp;documentation that shows she was tested on April 29. On Monday, she got her results: “inconclusive.”Knox said she then received an email that instructed her to treat her results as if she has the coronavirus. She was told her sample would get retested or she would be prompted to get another test. Days later, she hasn’t received additional information.“It sounds good when they’re talking about it,” Knox said. “But either Reynolds is not getting a true picture of what’s going on, or they’re not letting on what the true picture is. Because I did everything I was supposed to do.”Reynolds said at her Thursday press conference&nbsp;, in part because of the state's&nbsp;testing.&nbsp;State officials say more than 66,000 individuals have been tested for the coronavirus in Iowa, though it's unclear how many&nbsp;are tied to Test Iowa sites. Statewide 11,059 people have the virus, according to testing, and 231 have died from&nbsp;COVID-19, the state reported Thursday.Van Haalen said she’s not sure if she will take up the offer to get retested at a Test Iowa location.“I’m going to call my doctor, and I'm going to go that route, where my information is safe and protected,” she said.Barbara Rodriguez covers health care and politics for the Register. She can be reached by email at bcrodriguez@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8011. Follow her on Twitter .Your subscription makes work like this possible. Sign up at&nbsp;.View Comments

Des Moines RegisterView CommentsSome coronavirus test samples collected under&nbsp;the Test Iowa&nbsp;program cannot&nbsp;be processed because they were “potentially damaged,” resulting in incomplete results.Pat Garrett, a spokesman for Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, said Thursday that&nbsp;"a very small percentage" of people were affected. Neither he nor officials with the Iowa Department of Public Health provided more specific information.Some Iowans told the Des Moines Register&nbsp;they’ve been waiting nearly two weeks for coronavirus test results from program. The governor acknowledged a...

Some Test Iowa COVID-19 samples were 'potentially damaged,' governor's office confirms

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