FL COVID-19: 1 Million Tests Expired Last Month, 67K New Cases

FLORIDA — Gov. Ron DeSantis and Kevin Guthrie, the director of the state’s Division of Emergency Management, confirmed accusations from Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who is also running for governor this year, that the state let a stockpile of at-home tests expire in December.

Between 800,000 and 1 million Abbott rapid testing kits expired in a warehouse last month, Guthrie said at a news conference Thursday, according to WTSP.

"We tried to give them out prior to that, but there was not a demand for it,” he said.

Guthrie added, “We received a three-month extension on those test kits, which ended up expiring between Dec. 26 and Dec. 30. Prior to that date, we did ask Abbott and the federal government for another three-month extension on those, so we could use those tests. We’re still waiting to hear about that from HHS.”

Fried tweeted Thursday, “It’s bad enough that Governor DeSantis has deprioritized testing with omicron exploding across Florida, but it’s an absolute disgrace for the governor and his communications team to have lied and covered up the massive failure of a million unused tests while Floridians wait in hours-long lines for local tests that are running out.”

Their admission of the tests' expiration comes as Florida's COVID-19 surge shows no signs of slowing down.

More than 67,000 new cases were reported for Wednesday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over the past seven days — Dec. 30 to Jan. 5 — 396,164 cases were reported in Florida, CDC data shows. Twenty-four coronavirus deaths were also reported during that week.

At the same time, hospitalizations continue to climb, more than doubling over the past week. The Florida Hospital Association tweeted that there were 8,062 COVID-19 hospitalizations confirmed throughout the state Thursday. One week earlier, on Dec. 30, there were only 4,001 patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

COVID-19 tests are in high demand across Florida with many testing sites throughout the state seeing long lines and wait times.

In Sarasota County, one testing site saw four-hour wait times. Meanwhile, Miami-Dade County saw an all-time high with more than 70,000 tests administered in a single day on Monday, a news release said.

People are also clamoring for at-home COVID-19 tests, as well. Some Florida counties and cities have given out home testing kits to residents unable to purchase them elsewhere because of low supply, including 7,500 tests distributed in Manatee County Wednesday.

Medical experts have also said that Florida’s total number of COVID-19 cases is likely higher than what the CDC and FDOH are reporting because many at-home tests aren’t being reported.

G. Steve Huard, public information officer with the FDOH in Sarasota County, said there’s no way to estimate exactly how many positive at-home COVID-19 tests have been taken.

“This information is hard to determine, since it is very difficult to track who received an at home test, or who (has) used it. However, the PCR test remains the gold standard to confirm a COVID-19 infection, and patients who test positive with the at-home test are strongly advised to follow-up with their provider, as per the test kit instructions,” Huard told Patch.

Those using the BinaxNow brand at-home test kit can report their results using the NAVICA app, he said. “The user must follow direction that are given with the test kits to properly set up the app.”

At a news conference in Naples Tuesday, DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo discussed overwhelmed and overcrowded testing sites throughout the state and discouraged Floridians who don’t have COVID-19 symptoms from getting tested.

Ladapo criticized health policies that push people to get tested frequently for the virus, adding that moving forward Florida will focus on “high-value testing,” meaning high-risk individuals and those with COVID-19 symptoms, according to Naples Daily.

"It's not about restricting access to testing, it's about de-programming or de-normalizing this idea that you can't go anywhere unless you get tested," Ladapo said. "If you have no symptoms, please don't get tested. You're so unlikely to benefit from that, and you could be harmed."

The Florida Department of Health’s new testing guidance, which was released Thursday, aligns with statements from the surgeon general and DeSantis.

The health department’s guidance focuses on testing for those who are at an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

These groups include:

• Older adults, especially those 65 and older

• Individuals with certain medical conditions, including cancer, diabetes, chronic lung diseases, heart conditions and a weakened immune system

• Those who are pregnant or were recently pregnant

FDOH said that individuals with symptoms of COVID-19 and who have a higher risk for severe illness from the virus should:

• Get tested soon after COVID-19 soon after symptom onset

• Seek early monoclonal antibody or antiviral drug treatment and other medical treatment, as necessary

Those who have been exposed to COVID-19 but have no symptoms are discouraged from getting tested as it’s “unlikely to have any clinical benefits,” FDOH said.

DeSantis also announced Thursday that the state has secured nearly 1 million at-home rapid tests that will be sent to nursing homes and long-term care facilities across the state, News 4 Jax reported.

The governor said after these facilities receive testing kits, they’ll be sent to “senior-heavy communities” with older populations.

“It’s not really to just test to test but someone develops a symptom, you go in, you have an at-home test, you can get a result and then proceed to treatment and that’s something that’s really good,” DeSantis said. “Clearly when you’re talking about long-term care facilities, you’re talking about senior communities. Those are the demographics that are going to be more likely to take a positive test and then parlay that into treatment, which we do support and want to get very quickly. So that will make a difference.”

This article originally appeared on the Bradenton Patch