DES MOINES, Iowa — Thursday, the Iowa governor's office announced some TestIowa samples might have been damaged.
Local 5 has learned of at least nine people who got tested on April 25 at the TestIowa site in Des Moines that are still awaiting test results Thursday. Another person got tested in Des Moines on April 29 and is also awaiting results.
Jeannie McQuillan was one of the first in Iowa to get tested at the first TestIowa site on April 25. She's among waiting to hear if her sample was damaged or not.
"I'm so disappointed in the lack of coordination, unprofessionalism, the ineptness of people working in a professional capacity that should have had control of all this so that it didn't turn out this way," McQuillan said. "I just can't believe that nobody has any answers at all. It's just, it's beyond me."
The governor's office released a statement Thursday saying some test samples could have been damaged.
“A very small percentage of individuals are going to receive a direct notice that their test sample could have been damaged," Reynolds' spokesman Pat Garrett said in an emailed statement Thursday. "We will notify these individuals and they will be offered the opportunity to retest at their convenience at any site that’s open at any time. These situations are not unique to Test Iowa, and it’s common among all testing for COVID-19.”
Most waiting on test results said the most frustrating part about all of this has been the lack of communication. They said they wish they'd have known sooner that their samples may be damaged.
A spokesman for the State Hygienic Lab, the site where TestIowa samples are processed, said at times, human error will lead to damaged samples.
"A small percentage of all specimens leak during transport and have to be recollected," said Stephen Pradarelli, strategic communications director at the Office of the Vice President for Research.
Pradarelli said human error may cause a collection vial to leak when specimens are drawn.
The lab was unable to say an exact number or percentage of tests that get damaged.
The governor's office said right now, they can't say what could have potentially damaged the TestIowa samples because there are several ways, in addition to leaking, that damage can happen.
Phil K. James, who got tested in Des Moines on April 29, also hasn't heard where is results are.
"If we have this massive testing program, great," James said. "I was excited for it in a way because I was thinking, 'alright, we're actually achieving something here,' Getting a result or not getting a result; it's not the end of the world for me. It just would have been nice to know because I've sort of been self-isolating here."
James said after a telemedicine visit with his doctor, he was advised to try out the TestIowa program.
"Rather than going into an office someplace, he said just the drive-thru is probably the best bet," James said. "They didn't really want a lot of people infected in their offices."
James said he isn't necessarily concerned that his sample may be damaged, but he understands others' frustration.
"I'm just a dude," James said. "I'm not really somebody that worries about that. I'm not in contact with a lot of people every day. On the other hand, if somebody was in contact with somebody who was vulnerable, I can understand that frustration."
As of Thursday night, those Local 5 spoke to still hadn't gotten official word one way or another if their sample was damaged or if they can still expect results.
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