Kara Lofton, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Coronavirus Testing Is Limited in W.Va., Its Population Is High-Risk. That's Why We Should Distance

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One of the reasons coronavirus is so scary is that it is possible to be a carrier for the disease and not know it. Some people are asymptomatic and some people have mild symptoms. But as of Monday, West Virginia has only tested 84 people for coronavirus – out of a state of 1.8 million. Critics say that’s not nearly enough.

If you wanted to check to see if you had coronavirus so you could make sure you’re in the clear before going to visit an elderly relative – could you?

The short answer? No – not in West Virginia, at least.

“So currently, I have enough tests and supplies of everything else for maybe 500 people,” state commissioner for public health Dr. Cathy Slemp said at a Monday news conference.

Slemp said West Virginia has that many coronavirus testing kits only because she was able to make use of resources that would have normally been dedicated otherwise.

“I borrowed extraction kits from my flu testing to fill in to expand my capacity,” she said.

West Virginians aren’t getting widely tested because there simply are not enough supplies to test people — even nationwide. The state has put in an order for more kits, but supplies are on backorder with no sense of when the order will be fulfilled.

“I’m not stopping flu testing,” Slemp said. “In fact, it’s actually really helpful for this because we try to exclude flu before we do COVID testing.”

If someone has the flu, she says it’s highly unlikely they also have coronavirus. But, because supplies are in high demand, for now, the only people who will be tested are those who meet a strict criteria.

In a press release Monday, the DHHR specified tests would be reserved for really sick people already hospitalized with symptoms of coronavirus or people at risk of complications including the elderly and those with preexisting health conditions or people at high risk of having been infected, which includes someone who has been to a current epicenter recently or who has been in contact with an infected person.

The DHHR says that their approach is similar to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on testing.

But the CDC guidelines have been a point of controversy, with other major public health groups like the World Health Organization saying the U.S. has not gone far enough.

“South Korea, as a country, they tested very broadly,” WVU Health Sciences Vice President and Executive Dean Dr. Clay Marsh said.

Marsh spoke last week with West Virginia Public Broadcasting and explained different approaches — and outcomes — with testing.

“And part of the way that they started to control the infection is — instead of just asking everybody to self-quarantine, if you’ve had any potential exposure — they started to test a ton of their population. So they actually knew who was infected and who wasn’t,” Marsh said.

“And, optimally, you find that out and you quarantine the people that are infected. You don’t quarantine the people who aren’t. So that’s really a step that we’re moving toward, which will allow us, I think, to be much smarter about how we’re approaching this from a public health protection standpoint.”

As Marsh points out, South Korea has been lauded for its efficient testing. They made testing free and fast — residents can pull up in their vehicle, get swabbed and then get results usually the next day via text.

South Korea’s death rate is 0.9 percent. In the United States, the rate is 1.7 percent – nearly double.

It’s not just testing supplies that are the problem – it’s that the labs don’t have the technology necessary to test. West Virginia’s state lab wasn’t set up until Saturday, March 7th (tests were sent instead to the CDC in Atlanta) and commercial labs didn’t get going until this week. Some hospitals are also hoping to be able to run their own tests soon but for now are having to send them off to external agencies.

But with supplies on backorder, and few labs to test in, state health agencies say they must focus on testing just those with the highest risk. Even though they believe coronavirus to already be in West Virginia. And, when it comes, it could be catastrophic.

Slemp said West Virginia has a high-risk population because the disease seems to target the elderly and those with preexisting health conditions. A report from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows West Virginia is the most at-risk state, with more than half of adults over 18 at risk of contracting the coronavirus.

She said now is the time to act to prevent a disaster. But that West Virginia likely will not be prioritized to receive supplies because other states have more cases.

“You need to be prioritizing states, not just on numbers of cases — but on risk. We have a high-risk population. If we don’t have a lot right here now that’s great. If you send them now, we act now, give a chance to really, really reduce it much more,” Slemp said. “If you’re going to just where it’s already happening you’ll be too late.”

If you can’t test everyone, Slemp said, the only other option is to isolate everyone, reducing risk through contact.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from Marshall Health and Charleston Area Medical Center.

Presidential Hopeful Elizabeth Warren Talks Tackling Opioids at Epicenter of Epidemic

Senator Elizabeth Warren spoke to a crowd of about 150 people in Mingo County Friday. The Democratic presidential candidate mostly spoke to the opioid epidemic, rather than her campaign agenda.

Warren spoke at the fire station in the small town of Kermit. She focused on her plan to tackle the opioid crisis.

“Do you realize across this country they have a less than one in five chance to be able to get the medical treatment that they need?” Warren asked the crowd.

Warren said she proposed funding better treatment and prevention options by implementing an ultra-millionaires tax on the richest 75,000 families in the United States.

“Congressman Cummings from Baltimore, Maryland and I have just introduced a bill to put in $100 billion in funding over the next 10 years to meet this crisis head on and to wipe it out,” she said.

The town of Kermit has been called the epicenter of the opioid epidemic after a Charleston Gazette-Mail investigation found that more than 3 million prescription opioids had been shipped to a single pharmacy in the town of only 400 people over the course of 10 months.

Outside the fire station, a small pro-Trump group held signs and cheered when passing cars honked their support. One woman sporting a Trump sign and lapel pen said she believes that Trump has kept every promise he has made to the people of West Virginia and that Warren is using Kermit for political gain.

Drug Policy Appointee Resigns Weeks After Appointment

Dr. Michael Brumage resigned today as director of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources’ Office of Drug Control Policy after less than two months on the job.

In an email, Brumage said that it “was clear that the distractions of the Charleston syringe service program were overshadowing my work” and that he feels he’ll be better able to serve the state in another capacity.

The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department’s needle exchange program has recently come under fire from Mayor Danny Jones and Police Chief Steve Cooper.

The DHHR issued a press release Friday morning in which Brumage says that he is committed to the health and well-being of all West Virginians and “can do so best through my work with the West Virginia University School of Public Health, away from the distraction of recent events.”

Susie Mullens, program manager of DHHR’s Office of Drug Control Policy, will assume the role of interim director.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Marshall Health, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.

Sanders Urges Capito to Vote Against Senate Health Care Bill

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders attended a rally Sunday in Charleston billed as an effort to “protect our health care.” Supporters demanded that Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., vote against the latest U.S. Senate health care bill.

“If either version passes the effects will have a crippling impact on communities all throughout our great state,” said Joshua Sword of the West Virginia American Federation of Labor. Sword, one of Sunday’s speakers, was referring to versions of the health care overhaul that have recently been passed by the House and Senate.

“Hospitals, drug treatment facilities and countless other specialized care providers will have to close their doors due to the loss of federal funding to the system,” he said.

Supporters listen to Bernie Sanders speak at Sunday’s rally.

Attendees were led through several chants pointed at Republican Senator Capito, including “lives are on the line.” Up until this point, she has said that she has “concerns” with the way the legislation is written, but hasn’t announced how she plans to vote.

Speakers covered aspects of health care that would be impacted by the proposed legislation, such as Medicaid expansion, substance abuse treatment and the ability of insurance companies to deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions.

Sanders came on stage about an hour into the program to a wildly enthusiastic audience.

Bernie Sanders speaking at the Charleston Municipal Theater Sunday.

“The legislation that is coming before the Senate in a few days, the so called health care bill, will be the most devastating attack on the working class of this country in the modern history of the United States of America,” he said.

The Senate could vote on the proposed legislation as early as this week, before the July 4th recess. Critics say such a vote is too hasty, while supporters hope to push the bill through.

The rally was co-sponsored by 13 activist groups, including Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, West Virginia Healthy Kids and Families Coalition and West Virginians for Affordable Health Care. About 2,000 people attended.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.