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Fewer people are taking COVID-19 tests. Is that good or bad? The answer is complex

"We want cases to go down, so we need to continue that testing and contract tracing piece in addition to vaccination piece."

ST. LOUIS — This time last year, people were struggling to find COVID-19 tests.

Now with people lining up for vaccines, fewer people are getting the nasal swab.

The average number of tests done daily across the US dropped by almost 34% since January, that's according to the COVID Tracking Project.

Total Access Urgent Care has seen a similar trend.

"Our biggest peak was in November and that’s when we had the most testing," Chief Medical Officer Dr. Troy Dinkel said. "We averaged 1,466 tests a day during that month. Now we’re down to averaging about 900."

So, why is this happening?

The head of the St. Louis Pandemic Task Force said there are several reasons.

One could be testing fatigue.

He said another is not wanting to go through the issues of testing positive and having to quarantine or isolate.

Plus, throwing the vaccine into the mix is causing some change.

"If you think who's vaccinated so far, a lot of people at risk. So, the younger population that doesn't have such severe symptoms, they aren't wanting to get tested," Dr. Garza said.

With immunity up, testing can go down too.

"There's less people getting sick, so that's a valid reason for testing going down," Dr. Garza said optimistically.

He said while it's important that fewer people are getting sick, it doesn't mean exposure isn't still happening.

"What's concerning is if people are symptomatic and not getting tested. That will continue to drive transmission, that's when you get stuck at these plateaus with not seeing a decrease in cases or hospitalizations. We want cases to go down, so we need to continue that testing and contract tracing piece in addition to vaccination piece," he explains.

The CDC guidelines read, even if you are vaccinated and you're experiencing symptoms, it's advised to get a COVID-19 test.

Test results are quicker now.

"We’re not at that point now where we’re showing up with patients wrapped around the building," Dr. Dinkel said. "We had people waiting 15 days to get their results back. Now, we get this back very reliably in two days."

The process for Total Access Urgent Care has gotten quicker with the ability to check-in online or even see what other testing sites are available if need be.





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