"In early 2021, employees at Oklahoma's new "state-of-the-art" Public Health Laboratory in Stillwater found expensive lab equipment at their workstations, but not enough free electrical outlets. Instead of a smooth opening, they were greeted with slow Internet service and an early power outage. By September, federal inspectors at the laboratory found things hadn't improved: virus samples stored in an unlocked refrigerator, boxes of expired reagents stacked at entrances, and rows of empty desks."
"For Janis Blevin's family, the rushed move also meant five weeks of "worry and concern" after her granddaughter's newborn screening was processed through the Stillwater lab. In an op-ed and interviews, Blevin and her daughter, Lori Zehnder, describe how the newborn was subject to five blood draws, two catheter urine collections, and five doctor's appointments in the very first frantic weeks of life due to a false positive for Malonic Acidemia."
In early 2021 employees at Oklahoma's new state-of-the-art Public Health Laboratory in Stillwater encountered insufficient electrical outlets, slow internet and an early power outage. By September federal inspectors found virus samples stored in an unlocked refrigerator, expired reagents stacked at entrances, and rows of empty desks. The lab lacked specialized personnel, forcing some tests to be sent to Minnesota while workers reportedly mishandled COVID-19 samples and used expired materials for screening. The rushed move prompted warnings. A newborn screening processed at the lab produced a false positive for malonic acidemia that led to multiple invasive tests and five weeks of worry.
#public-health-laboratory-failures #covid-19-testing-errors #newborn-screening-false-positive #laboratory-staffing-and-safety
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