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When Biogen managers started getting sick, they went to Mass. General - and were told they wouldn't be tested for coronavirus
By adamg on Wed, 03/11/2020 - 1:34pm
We know how well that worked. The Globe takes a detailed look at the now infamous Biogen employee meeting at the Marriott Long Wharf and sums up the initial American response to the virus.
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Comments
I get that testing would be nice
...but I think the policy is actually well-reasoned. Just like in an ER triage you prioritize the most dire of patients, it seems like a triage for testing is also appropriate. (God knows that all the folks who read CNN and MedMD probably think they are dying of cancer and covid simultaneously.)
The testing itself is prone to false negatives, so turning a presumptive case into a confirmed case takes more than a single test. And, in the case of Seattle, there is even a reported concern that testing may also lead to unintended transmission.
Would you prefer that everyone who thinks they have something get tested at the expense of those who really need it? Does knowing you have it really change anything? Should you not practice social distancing, healthy living, and good hygiene anyway?
Please cite your medical
Please cite your medical qualifications to justify your seemingly professional opinion. Ignorance like yours is dangerous.
When the employer reports a cluster of 50 similar illnesses
just after a conference, that strikes me as a pretty good signal that some testing should happen.
Unforced Error by the Government
If people suspected of having COVID-19 aren't the people who really need it, who would possibly qualify for the test by your reasoning? How many people were potentially infected by these Biogen attendees after their colleagues sought testing and were denied, thousands?
According to the Globe article, the patients didn't meet "the government criteria" for testing, but that's either because the criteria is idiotic, or there weren't enough test kits available. Think of that, at MGH, the premiere hospital in the country, 1 month after the first COVID-19 case appeared in Massachusetts they weren't prepared or allowed to test people exhibiting symptoms. That's an absolute failure of our federal government's emergency preparedness.
Politicize much?
The vast majority of covid cases are mild amongst healthy individuals. Meanwhile we know that folks who are elderly, have compromised immune systems, and/or underlying health concerns have a much greater risk of having serious complications from covid. Not only that, but some of these underlying conditions (ie. cancer) have a whole other set of concerns around complications.
So we should prioritize Mary or John because they think they are symptomatic over someone who a) has existing serious disease and b) is suspected of covid exposure? Meanwhile Mary and John will be told to go home and stay there for 2 weeks...which, incidentally, is kinda what they should be doing anyway.
I am glad you're not my health care provider.
I'm no fan of Trump, but this seems to be an opportunistic attempt to politicize something that has no business being politicized. I find that kind of stuff pretty disgusting.
Don't be a shill, anon
Enough with the "Mary or John" B.S. Lets remember, in this case, "Mary or John" had the virus! And how do you think those people with higher risks you claim to be concerned for will get the virus, anon? Oh, right, unidentified carriers like "Mary or John" walking around in public not knowing they have the virus.
The federal government is in charge of pandemic response. They've been utterly incompetent at it. They richly deserve all the blame they have coming to them. On March 6th, The US had done 2,000 coronavirus tests. South Korea had done more than 140,000. Rationalize that, anon.
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2020/3/6/21168087/cdc-coronavirus...
The CDC criteria was
The CDC criteria was established during the Ebola scare and like all things regulatory no one thought, "Hey maybe these standards don't make sense for an easily spread respiratory disease" until the obvious coughed in their faces. The CDC didn't want state labs or private labs handling the worst pathogens on their own and that has now backfired.
Epic Failure
Great reporting by the BG of a case-study of failure of emergency preparedness, communication and public health measures.
The lack and delay of testing in this case is inexcusable.
Incidents like this...
Could give a company like Biogen pause to consider moving operations elsewhere...
Italy, perhaps?
From the article it sounds like Biogen did everything right. They don't know someone was infected and at the time people weren't cancelling events. As soon as they figured it out (which was quick) they contacted everyone involved.
It's hard to see this playing out differently in another city. Plus, they are in Boston for the access to research schools and related companies. Moving wouldn't make sense.
Most likely the virus has already spread throughout the area. CDC should have been ready will widespread testing ability.