Seniors care advocates push B.C. government for rapid tests in long-term care screenings

“It has to do with all kinds of factors,” Dr. Henry explained at a media briefing this week. “Whether people are minimizing their symptoms, not recognizing them, not being screened adequately in some cases.”

To protect against asymptomatic transmission, B.C. Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie wants rapid tests to be used every-other-day with care home staff. The goal would be to strengthen current screening routines and catch positive cases who might’ve otherwise been allowed to enter the buildings.

“If the health screening was effective, we would not be seeing the proliferation within some of these outbreaks of cases.”

Mackenzie says making rapid tests available could be helpful as there isn’t actually a uniform approach to staff and visitor screening. She says some facilities use an online form, some use an in-person questionnaire and some trust staff to self-assess and text a manager that they are feeling fine.

“One of the things that will be interesting when we do the review is to see whether there is any relationship between the type of symptom screening and whether or not temperature checks were done, and whether or not outbreaks occurred, and whether or not those outbreaks spread,” she notes. “There’s a whole bunch of information we just don’t know yet.”

Provincial health officials have stated that rapid tests aren’t as accurate as the PCR testing. However B.C. Care Providers Association CEO Terry Lake says they don’t want the rapid tests to be used for diagnosing the virus — just as another screening tool.

“We don’t make a diagnosis based on a mammogram. We have follow-up tests like a biopsy and this is similar,” he explains. “If you have a positive on a rapid test, then you go and have your PCR for confirmation and we know in the pilot program in Vancouver Coastal that asymptomatic carriers have been picked up already by using this test.”

The rapid tests could also be used to screen social visitors who haven’t yet qualified for the vaccine. Mackenzie says only about 20 percent of residents have an essential visitor who would have been vaccinated in the first eligible group.

“How long are we going to wait before 80 percent of our residents are able to see their loved ones in a regular way, and not in a common meeting area or with Plexiglass between them? And rapid-testing visitors is increasing our confidence in allowing that until everybody is vaccinated.”

The province has cited concerns around the staffing needed to conduct the tests, but Lake says many facilities would be able to handle it.

“With the approval of a nasal swab rather than the more complicated nasal-pharangeal swab, that means these can be done by anybody. They’re really not technically difficult. So the number of resources you need is much lower,” he argues. “And with the vaccine we don’t have to apply it to everybody — only those who don’t get the vaccine.”

He adds that the federal government already paid for 1.3 million of the tests and they’re currently being stored in B.C.

“When Health Canada and the World Health Organization are saying these tests are appropriate, we fail to understand why there’s a million of them sitting here in B.C not being used.”

Without cost and supply issues holding the decision back, Lake says he hopes the province will finally give rapid tests serious consideration.

“I think when we look back on coronavirus and our response to it, particularly in seniors care, our philosophy and approach to testing will be one of the weak links.”

by Dylana Kneeshaw

Seniors care advocates push B.C. government for rapid tests in long-term care screenings

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