BF2S Forums Pandemic thread

Aaron Ford’s testing odyssey began last Thursday when his girlfriend fell ill with what she’s convinced is COVID-19, went to a clinic to get tested, and was told the first appointment was 10 days out.

Ford thought he’d likely been exposed and began searching for his own test while she quarantined in another part of the house. He looked online for rapid tests. Nothing. He drove around Portland to various pharmacies, then out to Gresham. Nothing. He went online again and found a testing appointment – 50 miles north in Longview, Washington, and also 10 days out.

He called the city of Portland, was referred to Multnomah County’s COVID-19 hotline, where he said he was referred to a third-party website that led nowhere. He said the county employee did direct him to a specific testing site but couldn’t guarantee it was open or if there were appointments available. Finally, he started calling politicians.

“What we need is for elected officials to start acting like leaders, even if it’s not a rosy picture, we the public need information,” he said. “Hold a press conference. This is what we can expect in a week, in a month, and these are the best practices for this situation, not just leaving it up to people to guess.”

And so it goes. The highly contagious omicron variant is running rampant nationally and setting infection records in Oregon. The supply chain – from at-home self-tests to staffing at test sites to laboratory capacity to process tests – is failing to keep up with record demand. Schools are struggling to stay open. Heath care workers are struggling to get tested. Public health guidance is confusing, and sometimes conflicting.

And public officials have no satisfying answers.

“The reality is that widespread testing is not available,” said Julie Sullivan-Springhetti, a spokesperson for Multnomah County. “No one has enough tests. The county has no secret stash. The reality is we have no more information than the state does.”

David Northfield, a spokesperson for Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, said most hospitals have reported an insufficient testing supply against surging demand. That’s created limited choices about how to use the tests, with some prioritizing testing for symptomatic caregivers and patients.

“The lack of testing supply is a challenge, and any infusion of new testing kits would be a big help,” he said in a statement.

SuperJail Warden wrote:

While everyone was struggling to get test, Ken was running up his test loyalty card. He would go to the test site, stay in his car, and have them stick the thing in his nose. Below the window and out of sight, both of his hands were in his pockets.

KEN-JENNINGS wrote:

The American taxpayer sends over $2k per year per Florida resident. That is net any money they add to the federal coffers. Ron DeSantis runs a welfare state.