By Doug Barker
The Daily World
The COVID-19 tests done last week at the mobile testing site in Aberdeen all included testing kits that have since been recalled.
The Grays Harbor Department of Health says it has heard from the state, which supplied the test kits, that the problem should not affect test results, but local officials are offering to retest anyone who was tested last Wednesday through Saturday.
“What we heard from the state Department of Health is that the nature of the recall did not affect test results, but we’re happy to offer retesting to people for peace of mind,” said Brianne Probasco, a spokesperson for the local health department.
The mobile site opened Wednesday and tested 101 people through Saturday, she said. In all, the testing site run by Grays Harbor Public Health and the Washington National Guard has tested 164 people, according to a briefing statement released Tuesday.
Probasco said they are contacting individuals who were tested last week with results and to inform them of the recall. The county still hasn’t had a positive test result since April 12, and the total number of cases was still 12 as of Tuesday afternoon.
The mobile testing site is scheduled to close after Wednesday. Anyone who is at least 18 and has symptoms can get a test. Whether it’s at a mobile site or another location, people must phone the call center to make appointments. The call center is open from 8:30 a.m.to 4 p.m. at 360-964-1850 Monday through Friday.
If the mobile site has closed by the time someone wants a retest people should “continue to call our call center and we will refer them onto other options,” she said.
“We are confident we will get all those people in who want to get retested. For the time being and the near future, we do feel good about our testing supply levels,” she said.
Probasco said the recalled supplies were obtained through the state emergency operations center.
In a news release the state said it was alerted by UW Medicine, which believed there might be a quality-control issue.
“Though the quality-control issue has only been observed in a small number of tubes of viral transport media, we adhere to the highest quality standards for COVID-19 testing in Washington state,” said Secretary of Health John Wiesman. “We are working with our partners to have them discard the product and will work to replace them as quickly as we can.”
The state recalled 12,000 kits sent to local health jurisdictions, tribal nations and state agency partners across the state.
Viral transport media is the fluid that preserves a specimen during transport. Some of the vials of that fluid were an unusual color, which prompted UW Medicine to reach out to the state to work together to investigate potential contamination. DOH officials believe there is no health risk to patients, as the transportation medium does not come in contact with patients during a COVID-19 test.
In its news release, the state said testing at UW Medicine indicated that the quality issues observed in the small number of the suspect kits did not impact COVID-19 test results. The investigation is ongoing, but the state said it chose to recall both the transportation fluid and the nasal collection swabs out of an abundance of caution. The state said the supplies were donated by a private medical supplier.
