Every day, thousands of Dutch people are at home with a snot nose, while they can only go more than 100 kilometers away for a corona test. The lack of capacity in the laboratories must be resolved by October. Edwin Boel, project leader of the National Coordination Team Diagnostic Chain (LCDK), says in conversation with NU.nl that he was surprised by the rapidly increasing demand for tests.
Do you face winter with fear and trembling?
“No, we see that we are gaining test capacity in all areas. Suppliers are also busy and that will help us enormously. It will be quite complicated with the virus in general, but I don’t think the test capacity will be the greatest. are problem. “
It is not even winter yet, and yet there is already a capacity shortage. Have you been surprised by the increased demand?
“Yes, we all are. The increased demand has surprised us. It has actually lagged behind for a long time. But all of a sudden there was a lot of testing.”
The demand for corona tests is currently around 38,000 per day. What is the capacity in laboratories now?
“Last week our capacity was 28,000, this week we are growing to 33,400. That is the demand from the GGDs. We also have the demand from hospitals and the regular diagnostics will also continue. The total test capacity this week is 45,800 (the total demand from the GGDs, hospitals and regular diagnostics, ed.) That all puts a burden on the system. “
What is the main cause of the current shortage of capacity in laboratories?
“The main cause is the same as always: because there is a lot of testing internationally, there is a scarcity of materials. We have a lot of machine capacity, but there is a shortage of test material. We are now getting additional materials, but at the same time we also see that demand has increased considerably. It continues to work with scarcity. “
A test capacity of 50,000 is expected in October have been scaled up.
“That’s right.”
But then there is still a huge step to be taken.
“That is also correct. Additional machines will be added and more materials will become available in October. That is an important step for us. It has been tough negotiations (with suppliers, ed.), But these are agreements that also include guarantees. stand.”
So those 50,000 daily tests will laboratories achieve in October?
“Yes. If we run into a problem somewhere or a supplier turns out to be in trouble, then the weather will change. But as it looks now, we will achieve that. At the beginning of October the test capacity is 50,000 and at the end of October there will be 70,000 tests available daily. “
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At the end of October, 70,000 Dutch people should be able to be tested every day. (Photo: ANP)
Then the capacity must have been increased to 85,000 daily tests by February. How can that be achieved in a few months?
“There have been tenders for machines and extra materials. This is now being rolled out. We are also talking to parties and already have contracts with three large laboratories. We are already using them, but the following applies: we cannot. suddenly go from zero to the maximum. The Ministry of Health has also supported a number of innovative projects. The first are now starting to hit the market. It is expected that it will help us. “
What do you mean by innovative processes?
“An example is TNO’s LAMP technology. It will be examined this week in a test street in Amsterdam. The advantage is that this technology can run on materials that are not scarce. So you are not dependent on the major manufacturers. There are more these kinds of trajectories, which are in different phases. We think we can use them by the end of the year. “
Critics argue that smaller, medical labs have been held for too long and that larger, commercial labs have been kept out for too long. How do you see that?
“For that we have to go back to the beginning. We had a new virus and that means that you first want to gain knowledge. In the beginning, the tests were only done at RIVM and Erasmus MC. Thirteen other laboratories were then also provided with the information. to run tests there as well. After that, it was further developed to other laboratories. “
“There has been a continuous scaling up – also with non-medical labs – but the test demand lagged behind what was possible for a long time. We saw that throughout the summer. Large laboratories were not immediately contracted at that time, because the expectation of the RIVM showed that this was only necessary in the autumn. When the number of infections started to increase rapidly in August, it was much earlier than expected. We then quickly entered into discussions with parties and contracts were also concluded. because you need time to scale up. “
RIVM expects the peak to be in February, when 85,000 tests per day are required. Is that the maximum capacity or is there more possible?
“That 85,000 is what the RIVM predicts on the basis of the past years (the number of people with cold and flu complaints, ed.). But we will not be exactly on that 85,000. I will not add a number, but we keep a connection with the RIVM and try to be comfortable. “
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