Long lines experienced at COVID-19 test sites

By Chris Spangler

Jefferson County residents have been experiencing long lines for COVID-19 tests and even longer waits for their lab results.

With the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, more people than ever are seeking in-person coronavirus tests.

“Right now, testing access is in high demand. All of our sites are pretty much the busiest we’ve ever been,” Jefferson County Health Department epidemiologist Samroz Jakvani said. “We’ve had record numbers of tests performed at the Jefferson County Health Department site that’s staffed by the Wisconsin National Guard in Johnson Creek.”
The same goes for testing sites at area pharmacies, Fort HealthCare and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the latter of which he called an “absolute treasure trove for us.

“We’re testing more than we ever have before,” Jakvani said. “Right now, every lab in the county is absolutely overwhelmed.”

With the Wisconsin National Guard tests, people in the past never had to wait more than 48 hours for results, and they usually received them within a day. But not now.

The tests are sent to a laboratory that is not associated with the Jefferson County Health Department, and it can take three to four, sometimes even five, days for results to be sent back.

“It’s not the most perfect access, where you can get a test the moment you want one, but there is enough access out there that folks should be able to get a test,” he said. 

“For some people, we’re recommending they may want to drive out to Madison. There are some clinical laboratories that get results back to folks in 24 hours, so there are a lot of options,” Jakvani said. “It certainly is available, and for those folks who need results within 24 hours, we are providing the information for some clinical labs in our testing information document, as well.” 

Jakvani said he and his department also are working on ways to boost access to testing.

Among other things, he has put in a request to the federal government for an additional testing site, and also is encouraging area public and private schools to participate in the K-12 School Testing Program offered through the state Department of Health Services.

“Basically, any school that wants to have a testing can have a testing company come to a site wherever they want, test however they want, as much as they want,” Jakvani explained, adding that taking the test is voluntary.

He said that the Jefferson, Lake Mills and Waterloo school districts have taken advantage of this with great success.

“In Lake Mills especially, it has been an absolute phenomenal success,” the epidemiologist said. “When you have all those parents and families having access to a testing site a few days a week, that helps immensely to divert that traffic away from some of the other sites.”

He said the department has offered the program to all area schools and districts, which still can register for the program. 

“If those who already are running it can open it to community members, that would be appreciated,” Jakvani said. “They will do that when capacity allows.

“So if Lake Mills’ testing company has enough supplies to tests students, families, teachers and then some community members, they’ll do that,” he added. “But right now, with how many supplies they have, they’re sticking to just students and families.”

He said that schools participating in the program have low involvement, needing simply to provide a staff person to coordinate with the point of contact.

“Once they got up and running, we’ve heard nothing but good things,” he said of the Lake Mills, Jefferson and Waterloo programs.

Meanwhile, other testing sites in Jefferson County are being provided by Fort HealthCare, UW-Whitewater, Walworth County Health Department, local pharmacies and independent contractors, all of which also have seen high patient demand.

Antigen vs. PCR tests

There also are “at-home” COVID-19 tests, which differ from the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests given at testing sites.

PCR tests detect viral RNA, while antigen tests detect specific proteins on the surface of the coronavirus. Antigen test results might come back in as little as 15 to 45 minutes, while PCR test results might take several days or longer.

On Wednesday, the Biden Administration will be launching a new website that Americans can use to request free at-home rapid antigen COVID tests mailed to their doorsteps.

People will be able to order four tests per household at COVIDTests.gov. All they need to provide is a name and address. They will be shipped out seven to 12 days after they’re ordered, senior officials said.

The White House also will launch a call line for people who don’t have computer access. 

Jakvani said that people taking an antigen test should read the directions carefully so they swab their nose or throat correctly.

“We did our best to try to educate folks on that,” he said. “We posted a video on Facebook on how to use one of those antigen tests.”

The antigen test is not perfect, but it does help, he said, especially “if you’re at home and it is hard to find PCR tests, or you need a quick answer.”

However, “If you’re symptomatic, you can’t rely on those antigen tests alone,” he warned.

Jakvani said that with the Omicron variant, health officials are seeing that, in the first few days after infection, even if a person is symptomatic, the antigen tests are not doing very well at catching it.

That was not the case with the Delta variant, he said.

“We’re at a place where (we must ask) how much certainty do you need to know you have COVID? If you’re low risk, it doesn’t matter if it’s flu or COVID. You should just stay home if you’re sick and not just spread it to others,” Jakvani advised.

“Where it is very vital for someone to know if they have SARS-Co-V2, compared to something else, is if they’re elderly or immunocompromised,” he continued. “What you need to know that for is for medication purposes.” 

Without the lab test, a person will not be able to obtain the therapeutic medications that can cut hospitalization in half or even 90 percent.

When will the surge end?

Jakvani said that officials anticipate being through the Omicron surge within the new few weeks, noting that San Francisco and New York City are seeing stabilizations in their case rates, thanks to wastewater data.

“Looking at sewage is likely the most reliable, accurate, real-time way of gauging how many people have COVID,” he said. “Wisconsin has been on this since pretty early on. We enacted surveillance in our wastewater system about a year ago. It gives us sort of a head’s up to when cases are increasing,.

“The decrease in cases is not really being seen at the testing level, but looking at wastewater surveillance for those big cities, we are seeing levels drop,” Jakvani added.

As for other variants on the horizon, Jakvani said there is nothing right now to raise concern.

“It is responsible for us to be monitoring that so we can track new variants,” he said. “Omicron is 97%, if not close to 99%, of all cases right now. There’s been reports of other variants after Omicron with relatively similar numbers of mutations, but nothing that’s become predominant in an area.”

Jakvani continued: “One other thing to consider is that knowing what we know about evolutionary immunology and virology, it would be unusual for a virus to evolve in a way that is more lethal. A virus is just like us. Our primary biological directive is to reproduce. And the virus does that best by becoming more efficient at spreading, but less efficient at killing its host.

“That’s what we base our predictions on: That it will become less of a problem as we go forward.”

While Omicron is appearing less severe than the Delta variant, it also is very difficult to tell, Jakvani said. In every population in the world, there is some degree of immunology, whether vaccine- or prior-infection induced.

“Because of that very significant level of immunity we have from both vaccines and natural infection, that’s really what’s helping us beat the wave of hospitalizations that we’ve seen in prior surges,” he said.

The epidemiologist advised that for people who are not vaccinated, he does not know whether he cannot say that Omicron is less severe or is less dangerous for them. 

“We can just say that for the number of cases, hospitalizations are less,” he said. “There’s some nuance there that I think some folks are missing a lot of the time.”

The bottom line is to take precautions, Jakvani said.

“The Jefferson County Health Department recommends that people go out and get their booster doses, and if you’re not vaccinated, please get vaccinated,” he said. “It offers a high level of protection against disease and illness.

“And when you are in public places, please wear a mask,” he added. “And please continue to mask, especially around high-risk individuals. If you’re around elderly folks, please be cautious.”

A list of area testing sites is here: http://fortatkinsononline.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/JCHD-COVID19-Testing-Information-Document.pdf.