COVID-19 update: Nursing home again affected by state lab malfunction

On January 8, the North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH) Public Health Laboratory identified a software malfunction on a piece of laboratory equipment. After conducting a thorough review of test results that took 30 days, officials determined that the malfunction was limited to one platform and affected a total of 641 positive COVID-19 results of 102,562 processed on the machine between Nov. 7, 2020 and Jan. 8, 2021.

“Laboratorians originally discovered a software issue internal to the equipment after seeing a discrepancy in the results after doing further data analysis on a different platform,” said Dr. Christie Massen, Chief Laboratory Officer for the NDDoH. “Thank you to the hard-working staff at the lab for manually going through every result on the platform to ensure the results were correct.”

Officials at Lutheran Home of the Good Shepherd were notified last week that two individuals who work or reside there were affected by the malfunction, and therefore their test results from early November were deemed “inconclusive.”  

This is the second time a state lab malfunction has affected COVID-19 test results at LHGS, as four staff members were retested in May after NDDoH discovered an issue with two pieces of equipment used to process test results. In that instance, the issue was identified within a few days, and the staff members subsequently all tested negative and were released from quarantine.

The NDDoH said Tuesday that although the issue has been resolved, laboratorians continue to manually review all raw data before the results are released. In addition, the laboratory has increased the frequency of their routine maintenance and software verification.

“While these lab issues are rare, we are committed to transparency to the public and the individuals we serve,” said Massen. “We take these malfunctions seriously and work to quickly identify and resolve the issues.”

The NDDoH Public Health Lab has analyzed over 1 million samples since the pandemic began in March 2020.

Eddy County had six active cases as of Wednesday, or 26 active cases per 10,000 population.

Statewide cases, hospitalizations continue to decline

North Dakota had the fewest new cases in the past seven days and the second lowest positivity rate among its contiguous neighbors, Gov. Burgum said in a press conference Wednesday. The state’s 14-day rolling average positivity rate stood at 2.6%, one-eighth of the 16% rate reported at the peak in mid-November.

There were 34 North Dakotans hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Wednesday. This past week, hospitalizations dipped down to the lowest numbers seen in the state since late July. Deaths from COVID-19 have also fallen sharply, as 75 North Dakotans died with the virus in the month of January. The next lowest monthly death tolls were recorded in May and August, with 44 and 42 deaths respectively.

Three pronged approach to slowing the spread.

Burgum said Wednesday that the state’s approach to COVID-19 prevention has three prongs: vaccines, therapy and rapid testing.

In regard to vaccines, 12.2% of North Dakotans had received at least one dose of the vaccine as of Wednesday, and vaccine allocations are increasing. The state received about 11,000 doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines this past week. The 30 Thrifty White Drug locations across the state began receiving 2,300 doses per week to administer as well. In addition, some or all of the 18 federally qualified health centers are slated to receive additional doses of the vaccine for their patients.

The state has administered 141,000 vaccines, with 761 doses going to Eddy County. Burgum noted that there’s good news for the vaccinated, as the CDC is no longer requiring individuals exposed to COVID-19 to quarantine if they have received two doses of the vaccine and at least two weeks have passed since their second dose.

Individuals interested in getting the vaccine can find out where doses are available using the North Dakota COVID-19 Vaccine Locator, online at https://www.health.nd.gov/covidvaccinelocator. Residents can also call the Vaccine Hotline at 1-866-207-2880.

A promising new therapy, monoclonal antibody treatment, is being used in North Dakota to help lessen the impact of COVID-19 on those who contract the virus. Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the immune system's ability to fight off diseases. A specific combination of two such antibodies, bamlanivimab and etesevimab, is specifically directed against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, blocking the virus' attachment and entry into human cells. Bamlanivimab and etesevimab bind to different but overlapping sites on the spike protein of the virus.

The Food & Drug Administration issued a press release Tuesday indicating that a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial showed that the monoclonal antibody treatment had a significant effect on patient outcomes. Among 1,035 non-hospitalized adults with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms who were at high risk of disease progression, 518 received a single infusion of two potent antispike neutralizing monoclonal antibodies, and 517 received placebo. Researchers then followed up with each patient 29 days post-treatment, and hospitalization or death occurred in 36 patients (7%) who received placebo compared to 11 patients (2%), a 70% reduction. Ten people (2%) died, and all the deaths occurred in individuals who were given the placebo. Burgum said that less than 1% of individuals who have received the therapy in North Dakota were hospitalized after contracting the virus, greatly lowering the hospitalization rate and vastly improving outcomes for North Dakota residents.

As it has since the pandemic began, testing continues to be a big part of the state’s strategy to battle the coronavirus. Burgum said there are millions of rapid tests available now, and businesses with more than 100 employees can implement rapid testing, as well as cities, police departments, school districts and other organizations.

“We want to make sure that we are continuing to test for new outbreaks,” Burgum said.

North Dakota residents have taken more than 1.5 million coronavirus diagnostic tests, and 52.3% of the population has been tested at least once.