Covid testing providers have been downsizing after government funding cuts and waning demand, despite concerns from health officials that the country could face another winter surge in infections.
, a professor at Arizona State University who has consulted with companies and institutions on testing.
The number of reported Covid cases is currently a quarter of what it was at its peak last winter. But Chris Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, estimates that only 4% to 5% of infections are being reported, because so many are uncovered through at-home tests and aren't reported to public health departments, or they aren't being detected at all. He expects to see infections start to increase next month and continue to rise through the winter.
IHealth Labs, one of the biggest beneficiaries of federal spending on Covid tests earlier this year, said it was now making around a tenth of the tests it was in February. But the company said it was prepared to quickly ramp up production — up to 50 million tests per month — if there is another winter surge.
“Even public health people seem to have this kind of magical thinking that everything is going to be OK and maybe it won’t be OK, but I don’t think anybody’s gearing up. I think for the most part, everybody’s waiting to see what happens and they’ll gear up if the needs arise,” said Plescia. “I think it’s kind of human that everybody’s just taking a break and waiting to see what happens.”
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