States creating their own national plans

Seven states collaborate on rapid testing, and a new fast, cheap saliva test may be available soon to detect COVID-19 infections.

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Former head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Andy Slavitt finally sees some good news. One of the most consistent commentators on the COVID-19 response, Slavitt tweeted this morning that an effective, rapid COVID-19 saliva test is coming soon and the rate of new infections in the South really does appear to be leveling off instead of sharply rising, as it was in recent weeks.

That saliva test was developed by researchers at Yale University, who submitted their data to the FDA on July 14. Evaluations of the test were conducted in partnership with the National Basketball Association. Costing less than $5 per test, SalivaDirect results were in “high agreement” with tests currently in use to detect COVID-19 infections.

Meanwhile, the governors of seven states have teamed up to do a group purchase of COVID-19 antigen tests and establish a de facto national testing plan. Maryland, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, and Virginia are working with the Rockefeller Foundation to purchase 3.5 million rapid test kits.

New York’s mayor announced that the city’s Sheriff’s Department will begin operating checkpoints to enforce the state’s mandatory 14-day quarantine for those coming into the state from most other locations. Previously, enforcement was mostly by state authorities at airports.

A study in this week’s JAMA shows that the COVID-19 restrictions and other factors related to the pandemic meant a dramatic drop in the number of new cancer cases being diagnosed. “While residents have taken to social distancing, cancer does not pause,” they write, estimating that tens of thousands of additional deaths should be expected because many cancers won’t be caught until they have advanced to more dangerous stages.