By Jennifer Dorsett
Field Editor
More than 2,000 COVID-19 test kits will soon be sent to hospitals across Texas, thanks to the help of Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL).
Viral sampling kits for animal use that were available at TVMDL labs are being re-engineered to test for COVID-19 in humans.
“No one has ever done this before, but tough times call for creative measures,” Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp said. “The very same experts who help track disease outbreaks in animals have put their minds to the biggest problem we all face today, and they’re doing what they can to help.”
Test kits have been in high demand since COVID-19 was first detected in the U.S.
Supplies were sent to the College Station lab from labs in Amarillo, Center and Gonzales.
“We are assembling the supplies into sampling kits here in our College Station lab,” Dr. Bruce Akey, TVMDL director, said. “We know that 2,000 may not seem like much when there are 20-plus million Texans at risk that may need testing, but if you need to be tested and you can’t right now because they don’t have this sample kit, then it’s a pretty big deal to you and your family. So, we are doing what we can right now.”
Each kit contains a swab, vial with transport media for sample preservation and a bag. The components are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for human use to sample for COVID-19.
The kits, which normally retail in bulk for about $4-$5 each, are now back-ordered for months, slowing COVID-19 testing efforts as hospitals scramble for the supplies.
“We hope to get these sampling kits in the hospitals or clinics where they are most needed as soon as possible,” Akey said. “We are pulling out all the stops.”
According to a university press release, the kits will be shipped to hospitals in cities with a Texas A&M University System campus, including Galveston, McAllen and Fort Worth.