Jones sponsors bill for insurance plans to cover COVID-19 vaccines when they’re available – alreporter.com

On Sunday night, her sons fever spiked, and in the morning he woke with body aches, a sore throat and a bad headache.

The mother, a nurse practitioner in the Birmingham area, told APR on Tuesday that shed spent the morning trying unsuccessfully to get her 10-year-old tested for COVID-19.

She wasnt able to, in part because drive-thru testing at the Church of Highlands Grandview campus closed after hundreds of cars clogged U.S. 280, cutting off access to and from a nearby hospital.

But there are also concerns over a lack of tests and testing supplies in Alabama and across the country, and public health officials cautioned that those without symptoms dont need to be tested, which could overwhelm a system already under strain.

She first called a pediatrician and was told the office couldnt help her.

Theyre seeing patients with fever via telehealth, they will not stop for strep or flu, she said.

She was told to call Urgent Care for Children, which is operating drive-thru COVID-19 testing for people up to 20-years-old, but her son wasnt experiencing a cough at the time, so she was turned down for a test.

She said we have a limited number of tests, which is completely understandable, she said.

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Her son has since developed a cough, so she tried to get him tested at the Church of the Highlands Grandview campus only to find herself stuck in traffic next to others on U.S. 280, who seemed to also be trying to get to the church.

I saw people enjoying conversation and laughing, and I saw a lot of people smoking cigarettes out of their car windows, she said. Theres no way that all these people meet criteria for testing and Ive got a sick kid in my backseat.

By the time she got up to the intersection, police officers were telling drivers that the testing site was closed.

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They didnt say why at the time, but it was very clear to me, looking at Grandview hospital, that this was really compromising access to the hospital, she said.

Attempts Tuesday to reach the church were unsuccessful, but Al.com reports that the church will move the testing to the churchs Grants Mill Road campus and reopen for testing on Wednesday.

She said theyve left a message with Urgent Care for Children and will try there again on Wednesday since hes developed a cough.

So Im hopeful, but if that doesnt pan out, I have no idea, she said.

As a health care provider herself, the nurse said shed like to see more communication to the public about who needs to be tested and who doesnt.

Try to keep people from panicking, but we need more tests, and we need more testing capacity, she said. Its not just the test, its the people who are going to process those tests.

Thats a concern expressed by Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, head of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who told reporters Monday that the state simply doesnt have the staffing and resources to test as quickly and as widely as is needed.

Marrazzo urged the public to seek a test only if they have symptoms, which are fever, shortness of breath and a cough.

Its a message echoed by other state health officials in recent days who have pleaded for the public to first call the states COVID-19 hotline at 1-888-264-2256 before driving to a testing location.

Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, on Tuesday told reporters that were seeing long lines in the drive-thru test center yet people are still having trouble getting a test.

Ive got a friend who sent me a text just a moment ago, whos been trying to get a test for five days. Now shes got symptoms, shes got a fever, shes got respiratory issues, but she cant get a test, Jones said. And that is in part because so many people are willing to get tests that dont really have any symptoms and arent really sick. Im not criticizing. What Im asking people to do is to hold back if you dont have a fever and respiratory issues.

The nurse said she also worries that if theres a panic, asymptomatic people could flood emergency rooms and primary care offices, which would cut off access to care for people like her son, whose fever had come down some Tuesday afternoon.

Hes probably improving, and I hope that will continue, but again, I dont know. I cant be certain of what it is without testing, she said.

After 3 hours on hold with Urgent Care for Children, the nurse said she was able to get her son an appointment to be tested later on Tuesday.

That took far too much effort for someone who even knows how to navigate the healthcare system. I cant imagine what its like for those uninsured, she said.

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Jones sponsors bill for insurance plans to cover COVID-19 vaccines when they're available - alreporter.com