![]() ![]() The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is the one in question, but in order to make this a reality, Detroit needs to open a lot more health care facilities. After talk that the COVID-19 vaccine would be available to everyone soon, it’s been made official by a statement from President Biden that directs states to make the vaccine available for all adults starting May 1st.Īll adult Americans will be eligible to get the vaccine no later than May 1. So far, the drive-through tests have found lots of flu and a few cases of coronavirus, Cohen says.“Let’s get Detroiters vaccinated and let’s get Detroit back open,” said Detroit Mayor, Mike Duggan. "It will definitely give us a clue as to whether COVID has other epicenters within Seattle, including other institutions," he says. So scientists still need to verify that the home kits won't miss any infections, Cohen says.Īs results from wider testing come in, Cohen says, the information should help public health officials assess the current outbreak. Home testing would be "fantastic," Cohen says.īut home kits rely on swabs that don't go nearly as far into the nasal passages as the ones testing clinics use. The university also expects to work with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to provide coronavirus testing kits that patients can use at home. The medical center plans to extend in-car testing to first responders who may have been exposed. "But if they test positive we want to keep them out of the workforce to make sure they're not going on to infect other staff or patients." "We want to make sure that if our staff test negative we get them back to work as soon as we can," Cohen says. The traffic here is expected to increase dramatically in the next few days.įor now, the clinic will continue to focus on health care workers because they will be essential if the coronavirus continues to spread in the Seattle area. We've had probably seven people come through this morning." ![]() Then it's time for Gates to put on fresh protective gear and get ready for the next arrival. "We'll get results back as soon as possible." "We're going to be testing for both influenza A and B, RSV, as well as COVID-19," Gates tells the driver. They'll be processed by a lab a few miles away. Gates takes the samples he's collected and seals them in plastic tubes. "I'm going to have you lean your head back just a little bit, try not to move on me," Gates says and inserts the first swab. Gates prepares to take two swabs through the open window, one from each nostril. "We're going to be doing your swabs today." "Hello, my name is Jeff," he tells the driver. Like Nakahara, he's in full personal protective gear, including a clear plastic face mask. Jeff Gates, a nurse at the medical center, approaches each car. The next stop at the testing clinic is in front of the three white medical tents. "And then if the screeners thought it sounded like it was a possibility of coronavirus, then they were given an appointment today." "If they had symptoms, they would go and fill out a survey online," Nakahara says. And they need to have a fever, dry cough, or other symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. These three tents in a parking garage at UW Medical Center Northwest make up a drive-through coronavirus testing clinic for symptomatic employees.įor now, the drive-through clinic is limited to health care workers in the university's health care system. When workers first drive in, they're greeted by Jan Nakahara, a nurse who usually works at the University's Hall Health Center. Cohen described it as "excellent airflow that you can feel." On the clinic's first morning of operation, a cold breeze was blowing through the structure. Signs and orange cones funnel vehicles to the testing site. So staff have placed three medical tents on the first floor of the center's multilevel garage, which is not enclosed. Seth Cohen, who runs the infectious disease clinic at UW Medical Center Northwest.Ĭoronavirus has already caused at least 17 deaths in the Seattle area and infected at least 83 people. "Because of the way this virus could be spread, we want to make sure there's good ventilation," says Dr. They typically get results within a day or so.īut the idea involves more than convenience. The system's medical center in northwest Seattle has turned a hospital garage lot into a drive-through clinic that can test a person every five minutes. Nurse Jeff Gates prepares to assess another patient in UW Medicine's drive-through coronavirus testing clinic in Seattle.Įmployees of the University of Washington's UW Medicine system can now get tested for coronavirus without leaving their cars. ![]()
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