Coronavirus in Pennsylvania: What we know now about COVID-19 testing
Pennsylvania hospitals are developing their own tests, and the coronavirus vaccine could come from Pennsylvania, too.
Candy Woodall
There are just 33 documented cases of coronavirus in Pennsylvania as of early Friday afternoon.
But it's a day with closed schools and offices, suspended seasons, canceled parades and championship games, and empty shelves in local supermarkets.
If you feel like the 33 documented cases don't line up with the reaction, you're not alone.
But the key phrase to remember in all of this is "documented cases." Medical experts and state officials believe the only reason that number is so low is because there aren't enough tests.
Coronavirus, technically known as COVID-19, must be confirmed by a test, and those tests are in short supply throughout the United States.
The numbers have been murky and in conflict, and seem to fluctuate daily. For example, there were about 500,000 tests available Monday in this country of more than 327 million people, according to a briefing from Vice President Mike Pence. However, the Centers for Disease Control on Thursday said 75,000 patients could be tested with their test kits. The CDC did not immediately respond to questions trying to clarify the discrepancy.
So, what does the testing shortage mean in Pennsylvania? Who should be tested, how can someone get tested, how does the test work? Here's what we know:
We do not have enough tests
Testing for the coronavirus pandemic has failed across the country, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the federal government's leading expert on infectious disease and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
"The system is not really geared to what we need right now. That is a failing. It is a failing. Let's admit it," he said to Congress on Thursday.
The Trump administration on Friday morning took steps to speed up testing, launching an emergency hotline for labs and spend more than $1 million to have tests developed faster.
Locally this week, no hospital officials at WellSpan, UPMC and Penn State Hershey Medical Center would confirm on the record how many tests they have. They all said to check back soon and that each facility was working internally and with private partners to meet community needs.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health also did not respond to questions seeking answers and clarifications on the number of tests available in Pennsylvania.
We don't know how many test kits each hospital has, but each test kit at WellSpan can test just one patient, according to WellSpan Sr. Vice President Hal Baker.
Not everyone needs to be tested
We're used to being able to go to a doctor's office for a sore throat and getting swabbed for strep throat, or having all the symptoms of the flu and getting tested for the flu.
Medical officials such as Fauci say the low testing capacity for the coronavirus causes anxiety among patients.
But Fauci, the Centers for Disease Control and Pennsylvania Department of Health have said not everyone needs to be tested, even if someone shows symptoms.
Hospitals are rationing their tests and prioritizing testing for patients who need it the most, such as people 65 and older with additional ailments, patients with chronic health issues and people who are in or have traveled through areas with high infection rates. Medical providers always prioritize and do this basic triage, coronavirus or not.
It's more important to control the spread of the virus than be tested for it, according to the CDC.
In its Friday morning briefing, the CDC said it expects "widespread transmission" of COVID-19 in the U.S. in the coming days and weeks. Most of the U.S. population will be exposed to this virus in the coming months.
That's why you see large events and professional and college athletic seasons being suspended or canceled for the first time in history. They are trying to control the spread of the virus.
"People who are mildly ill with COVID-19 are able to isolate at home during the illness," according to a CDC summary released Friday.
For people who are moderately ill but are not sick enough to be hospitalized, the health agency also recommends practicing good hygiene and isolating at home.
Hospitals need to reserve tests for people who really need -- that is is essentially the message from the CDC.
"Widespread transmission of COVID-19 could translate into large numbers of people needing medical care at the same time," according to the CDC release. "Public health and healthcare systems may become overloaded, with elevated rates of hospitalizations and deaths."
How to get tested
If you are sick or concerned you may have the coronavirus, contact your doctor for advice about whether you should be seen or tested for anything.
The COVID-19 test is similar to being tested for the flu. A medical provider will take a nasal swab to collect a sample from the back of the nose. That sample will be sent to a lab for processing.
It takes about 24 to 72 hours to get results.
Pennsylvania hospitals making their own tests
Something working in Pennsylvania's favor is that it has strong medical schools, university research and teaching hospitals working to develop COVID-19 tests and a cure for the virus.
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, better known as UPMC, is creating its own test.
Dr. Alan Wells, medical director of UPMC Clinical Laboratories, briefed media on the test development and provided an update on outside COVID-19 testing today as part of an expert panel gathered at UPMC Montefiore Hospital.
“It’s important to do in-house testing so that we can accelerate our time for identifying these cases, and ensure the best care and infectious disease protocols for patients as soon as possible,” said Dr. Alan Wells, medical director of UPMC Clinical Laboratories.
By developing its own test, UPMC will be able to diagnose patients “within the same day, and help to contain the spread of this virus," he said.
The process to develop the test is expected to take weeks.
Meanwhile, Pitt’s Center for Vaccine Research is developing a COVID-19 vaccine. A few weeks ago, it was one of the first centers in the world to receive samples of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, Wells said.
Penn State is also working on its own testing.
"The head of the virology lab at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center expects the lab to be running its own tests at some point in the coming weeks," said media relations specialist Barbara Schindo.
WellSpan is contracting with private labs for additional testing to meet community needs, according to spokesman Ryan Coyle.
And in the Philadelphia area, a $9 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is helping a pharmaceutical company get closer to developing a vaccine.
Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Plymouth Meeting is working with Philadelphia's Wistar Institute to deliver a vaccine within months. Researchers started the work in January when the outbreak in China was growing.
At that time, Inovio's president and CEO J. Joseph Kim told the Philadelphia Inquirer he expected to have the vaccine by late spring or early summer.
“Our goal is to be in human testing in less than six months in the United States,” he said.
Candy Woodall is a reporter for the USA Today Network. She can be reached at 717-480-1783 or on Twitter at @candynotcandace.