Politico | Latest coronavirus testing glitch: not enough cotton swabs

This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by David Lim on politico.com on March 16, 2020.

A potential shortage of cotton swabs and other basic supplies needed for coronavirus testing is emerging as a new threat to the Trump administration’s plans to roll out high-volume testing to 2,000 sites across the US by the end of the week.

President Donald Trump and other top administration officials have repeatedly said that millions of Americans could be tested in the coming weeks. But behind the scenes, some officials are warning the nation’s commercial labs that kinks in the supply chain for basic lab materials are the latest obstacle to broader testing.

During a Sunday night conference call, HHS Assistant Secretary of Health Brett Giroir warned more than 300 representatives of commercial laboratories, hospitals and state health departments that the Trump administration anticipates supply “speed bumps” as testing expands, a person on the call told POLITICO.

The materials in question include swabs that medical workers use to collect samples of patients’ phlegm and saliva for testing, and disposable plastic tips for the pipettes that lab technicians use to transfer liquids. Testing labs say they are also concerned about the availability of personal protective equipment for their staff.