This was in the NYT today. Looks like the US market is wide open and waiting for us.
“In general, though, cost may be the single most important barrier to widespread testing in the U.S.”
A survey by Arizona State University and the World Economic Forum, with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, has found that companies most frequently cited cost and complexity as the biggest deterrents to testing their workers.
Among the biggest companies that didn’t test, cost was not a commonly cited obstacle. Those companies were much more likely to be discouraged by the complexity of testing their large work forces, which one-third cited.
Many Employers Avoid Coronavirus Tests
Over Cost, Not Availability
A survey sheds light on why many companies aren’t testing workers. There is also “confusion and uncertainty as to how tests work,” a researcher said.
A health care worker administered a Covid-19 test in Milwaukee. Many employers cited the cost and complexity of testing workers as the reason they weren’t doing so. Taylor Glascock for The New York Times
By Noam Scheiber
Published Nov. 19, 2020 Updated Nov. 20, 2020, 10:31 a.m. ET
A surge of Covid-19 cases this fall has brought reports of new challenges in getting coronavirus tests. But for employers, testing availability and turnaround times do not appear to be the main obstacles.
A survey by Arizona State University and the World Economic Forum, with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, has found that companies most frequently cited cost and complexity as the biggest deterrents to testing their workers.
The findings, based on responses from 1,141 facilities at over 1,100 companies worldwide from September through late October, are consistent with earlier reports suggesting that many employers have been able to obtain testing relatively quickly if they absorb the expense. In many cases, however, employers have indicated that they feel the benefits do not outweigh the costs.
Over all, 17 percent of the facilities surveyed worldwide said they were testing workers. At least half of those facilities were doing so even for workers without symptoms, and roughly half were testing workers at least once a week.
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At facilities that were not testing, only 15 percent said availability was an issue, while 28 percent cited cost, 22 percent cited complexity and 16 percent said it would take too long to receive the results. (Those surveyed could select more than one reason.) The numbers for the United States, where more than 700 of the facilities were located, were similar to the overall results.
Mara Aspinall, a professor at Arizona State’s College of Health Solutions who helped oversee the study, said the results indicated that companies were figuring out how to get testing done if it was essential. For the others, she said, there was simply “a lot of confusion and uncertainty as to how tests work” in the absence of a national testing strategy, and the potential expense loomed large as well.
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Ms. Aspinall, who is also an adviser to the Rockefeller Foundation, said she thought workplace testing would become far more widespread next year as employers seek to bring more people back to work.
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Raj Behal, the chief quality officer of One Medical, which provides primary health care services to large employers like Google, agreed that the lack of cheap tests had played a major role in limiting uptake.
“In our experience, companies that need to bring their employees in because they are essential or critical workers are regularly screening and testing employees for Covid,” said Dr. Behal, whose company has helped clients arrange testing and was not involved in the survey. “In general, though, cost may be the single most important barrier to widespread testing in the U.S.”
“In general, though, cost may be the single most important barrier to widespread testing in the U.S.”
A survey by Arizona State University and the World Economic Forum, with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, has found that companies most frequently cited cost and complexity as the biggest deterrents to testing their workers.
Among the biggest companies that didn’t test, cost was not a commonly cited obstacle. Those companies were much more likely to be discouraged by the complexity of testing their large work forces, which one-third cited.
Many Employers Avoid Coronavirus Tests
Over Cost, Not Availability
A survey sheds light on why many companies aren’t testing workers. There is also “confusion and uncertainty as to how tests work,” a researcher said.
A health care worker administered a Covid-19 test in Milwaukee. Many employers cited the cost and complexity of testing workers as the reason they weren’t doing so. Taylor Glascock for The New York Times
By Noam Scheiber
Published Nov. 19, 2020 Updated Nov. 20, 2020, 10:31 a.m. ET
A surge of Covid-19 cases this fall has brought reports of new challenges in getting coronavirus tests. But for employers, testing availability and turnaround times do not appear to be the main obstacles.
A survey by Arizona State University and the World Economic Forum, with funding from the Rockefeller Foundation, has found that companies most frequently cited cost and complexity as the biggest deterrents to testing their workers.
The findings, based on responses from 1,141 facilities at over 1,100 companies worldwide from September through late October, are consistent with earlier reports suggesting that many employers have been able to obtain testing relatively quickly if they absorb the expense. In many cases, however, employers have indicated that they feel the benefits do not outweigh the costs.
Over all, 17 percent of the facilities surveyed worldwide said they were testing workers. At least half of those facilities were doing so even for workers without symptoms, and roughly half were testing workers at least once a week.
ADVERTISEMENT
At facilities that were not testing, only 15 percent said availability was an issue, while 28 percent cited cost, 22 percent cited complexity and 16 percent said it would take too long to receive the results. (Those surveyed could select more than one reason.) The numbers for the United States, where more than 700 of the facilities were located, were similar to the overall results.
Mara Aspinall, a professor at Arizona State’s College of Health Solutions who helped oversee the study, said the results indicated that companies were figuring out how to get testing done if it was essential. For the others, she said, there was simply “a lot of confusion and uncertainty as to how tests work” in the absence of a national testing strategy, and the potential expense loomed large as well.
Dig deeper into the moment.
Subscribe for $1 a week.
Ms. Aspinall, who is also an adviser to the Rockefeller Foundation, said she thought workplace testing would become far more widespread next year as employers seek to bring more people back to work.
CORONAVIRUS BRIEFING: An informed guide to the global outbreak, with the latest developments and expert advice.
Sign Up
Raj Behal, the chief quality officer of One Medical, which provides primary health care services to large employers like Google, agreed that the lack of cheap tests had played a major role in limiting uptake.
“In our experience, companies that need to bring their employees in because they are essential or critical workers are regularly screening and testing employees for Covid,” said Dr. Behal, whose company has helped clients arrange testing and was not involved in the survey. “In general, though, cost may be the single most important barrier to widespread testing in the U.S.”
