Jackson Memorial secures rapid coronavirus test touted by Trump, with DeSantis’ help
A newly released, rapid novel coronavirus test that can return results in five to 15 minutes is on its way to Miami’s public hospital after Gov. Ron DeSantis intervened on Jackson Health System’s behalf.
Jackson Health CEO Carlos Migoya said he called the governor’s chief of staff, Shane Strum, on Sunday after initially learning he would not have access to the test, which both DeSantis and President Donald Trump have called a “game changer” because it will allow health officials to learn much more quickly who has the virus and who doesn’t.
Abbott Laboratories, the company that manufactures the rapid diagnostic machines and test cartridges for the novel coronavirus, initially had not planned to send a machine to Jackson, Migoya said on Monday afternoon.
“I was quite upset about the fact that we were the main public safety net in Miami, and the largest hospital in the state of Florida ... that we didn’t get any [access to rapid testing,]” Migoya said. Migoya said DeSantis, who was also on the call, shared his frustration.
But later on Sunday, Migoya found out Jackson would get the tests after all. Cleveland Clinic in Weston, which had been set to receive the tests, had deferred to Jackson and would send one of its machines with test cartridges to Miami.
“Thanks to the efforts of the governor and the charity of the Cleveland Clinic, we got access to the testing,” Migoya said.
Migoya has tested positive for COVID-19 and remains in quarantine, although he has said he has no symptoms.
The rapid testing system was pushed through an emergency Food and Drug Administration approval last week.
Baptist Health South Florida also has access to the rapid testing, but it’s unclear how many machines they have.
At a press conference on Monday morning, DeSantis said he wanted Abbott’s diagnostic machines be spread out to more hospitals to allow for widespread testing.
The rapid tests offer a big advantage. If COVID-19, the disease caused by novel coronavirus, is quickly ruled out, front line healthcare workers don’t have to use the same level of personal protection, which is in short supply. Hospital space can be freed up. Providers can find out if nursing home residents could be sent back to their facilities without risk of spreading the virus.
“When you have to wait 48, 72 hours for a test result, those are the people that you’ve got to keep in the hospital most likely, and you don’t necessarily know whether they’re positive or not,” the governor said.
Hospitals might deploy rapid testing to monitor their own workers, DeSantis added.
“That way you’re not having to isolate half the hospital staff because you’ll get an answer on that, and hopefully the answer is negative,” he said.
Migoya said he was still determining how to best deploy the rapid test, but some possibilities include use in the trauma center or the emergency room, he said.
Because the platform can only run one sample at a time, it will add about 50 tests per day to the hospital’s testing capacity, if the tests were conducted around the clock, hospital officials said. The tests could be critical in helping nurses, doctors and others who must wear protective gear with any patient who might have the highly contagious disease.
“We’re obviously still going to take precautions with all patients, but we would no longer have to have the full protective gear we need for a full COVID patient,” Migyoa said.
Jackson is already testing for the novel coronavirus using its in-house lab, but that takes six to eight hours on average. The health system also ships lower-priority specimens to private labs, which can take several days to return results.
The Abbott tests, with five-minute positive results, are the fastest point-of-care coronavirus test on the market, according to Abbott Labs. Negative results can take about 12 minutes, the company said.
Cleveland Clinic Florida said it agreed to share one of its rapid testing kits with Jackson Memorial Hospital to aid the testing of high-risk patients.
“During these uncertain times, we’re all in this together — and this is especially true for our hospital systems and healthcare workers,” the hospital said in a statement.
Ideally, Migoya said, he’d have 10 ID-NOW platforms churning out test results, but this one machine can still make a big difference.
“It’s like that saying, ‘How do you save all the starfish on the sand? By throwing them back one at a time,’” Migoya said. “That’s where we are.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 5:18 PM.
