Opinion | U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier: Regular, rapid at-home testing will help Central Washington recover
The COVID-19 vaccine rollout is underway in North Central Washington. The fact that safe and effective vaccines were on the market less than one year after the pandemic arrived in the U.S. is nothing short of a scientific marvel, a testament to modern medicine and the work of scientists around the world.
The Chelan-Douglas Health District, Confluence Health and other local providers are doing an admirable job delivering the doses that are available, but of course the process of administering the vaccine is not perfect. Department of Health hotlines are busy. Setting up mass vaccination sites like the one at the Town Toyota Center is a logistical nightmare. And there are not nearly enough doses to go around. Most Americans won't be vaccinated for months. It is clear that vaccines alone are not going to solve our health and economic challenges in the near term.
That is where at-home COVID-19 antigen tests come in. Inexpensive, widespread, frequent, rapid testing — either at home, school, or the workplace — is likely going to be our fastest way out of this pandemic. Ideally, rapid antigen tests could be done anywhere, would provide fast results, and would not require a lab or a prescription.
Here in the Wenatchee Valley, the widespread availability of these tests would be a game changer. Agricultural companies could test their workers daily to keep the virus out of warehouses and housing facilities. Restaurants could offer every customer a test kit when they show up for their reservation. Long-term care facilities could regularly test their populations — and the families anxious to visit their loved ones. And parents could test their children in the morning and make smart decisions about sending them to school. Time is a key element that we often fail to consider when thinking about how good a test is. A "perfect" PCR test may be more accurate, but if only people who are symptomatic or have known exposures are tested, if testing isn't widespread and frequent, and if the results take days to come back, PCR testing falls far short. With regular at-home testing, if your test is negative Monday, it might come back positive Tuesday, giving instant feedback and much tighter control of the spread of this disease.
In this way, frequent rapid testing would enable every one of us to help stamp out this disease and reopen our economy. And it will take every one of us, together, called to action to get the virus under control, get back to school and work safely, reboot our economy, and save thousands of lives. I should mention one more thing. The virus is mutating quickly, already rendering vaccines less effective — though still incredibly valuable. Test strips that test for several different antigens may better withstand changes in the virus itself.
I am doing everything I can to make this a reality. In December, Congress approved an additional $25.4 billion in funding for testing. Last month, I sent a letter to the Biden Administration urging an increase in production and use of inexpensive rapid tests and asking the president to use the Defense Production Act to manufacture test materials. A few days later, President Biden rolled out his own ambitious plan that includes a ramp up of rapid test production.
The COVID-19 vaccine is here, and that is an extraordinary scientific achievement worthy of celebration. But our communities cannot afford another several months of economic paralysis, and our children desperately need to be back in classrooms. Until most of us are able to receive the vaccine, we must continue doing the things we know keep each other safe — mask up and distance. And I will continue to work to get affordable, rapid tests into homes, businesses and schools as yet another tool in our public health toolbox.
It has been a long, dark year in many ways. Brighter days are ahead.