WEBVTT - Employers Looking to Secure Coronavirus Tests for Workers 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:04.520 It's Tuesday Ape. I'm Oscar Ramiras from the Daily Dive 0:00:04.600 --> 0:00:08.160 podcast in Los Angeles, and this is your daily coronavirus update. 0:00:09.520 --> 0:00:11.520 To get back to work, companies are trying to secure 0:00:11.560 --> 0:00:14.400 test for their workers. Amazon, for example, is looking for 0:00:14.440 --> 0:00:17.919 ways to test employees regularly, including building its own testing lab. 0:00:18.360 --> 0:00:20.599 But there's a big question of the best way to proceed, 0:00:20.920 --> 0:00:23.480 well employers need more diagnostic tests or would it be 0:00:23.480 --> 0:00:27.200 better for antibody tests. Sarah Krause, reporter at the Wall 0:00:27.200 --> 0:00:29.800 Street Journal, joins us for how employers want to ramp 0:00:29.880 --> 0:00:32.760 up their own testing capabilities. Thanks for joining us, Sarah, 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:35.760 Thanks for having me. Everybody on top of mind for 0:00:35.800 --> 0:00:37.919 everybody right now is how do we get back, how 0:00:37.960 --> 0:00:40.720 do we get the economy going again, and how do 0:00:40.760 --> 0:00:44.519 we get back to work? Companies are looking to get 0:00:44.560 --> 0:00:47.279 a bunch of tests for their workers. This has long 0:00:47.320 --> 0:00:49.280 been part of the conversation. We need to ramp up 0:00:49.280 --> 0:00:51.959 all the testing, but companies are looking to get their 0:00:52.000 --> 0:00:54.880 own tests, test their own workers, maybe in house, but 0:00:54.960 --> 0:00:57.680 that also poses a lot of problems upfront. Right now, 0:00:57.720 --> 0:01:00.120 we hear a lot about Amazon in general mode or 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:02.920 is they're looking for ways to test their employees. They're 0:01:02.960 --> 0:01:05.959 looking for methods to test them regularly, but like I said, 0:01:06.000 --> 0:01:08.880 there's just a lot of problems with ramping up privacy 0:01:08.920 --> 0:01:11.679 liability concerns as well. Sarah tell us a little bit 0:01:11.720 --> 0:01:15.320 about this. So as companies try to figure out when 0:01:15.400 --> 0:01:18.399 and how to bring workers back to the office or 0:01:18.440 --> 0:01:21.280 back to the workplace, they want to make testing part 0:01:21.360 --> 0:01:24.679 of it. But it's really unclear how the best go 0:01:24.760 --> 0:01:28.720 about it, whether it's most valuable to do regular diagnostic tests, 0:01:28.720 --> 0:01:31.960 whether an antibody test is the best way forward. So 0:01:32.120 --> 0:01:34.920 there's a lot of questions about how best to proceed 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:37.760 that companies are grappling with and how to act on 0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:41.119 it once they know that about their workforce. Really it's 0:01:41.160 --> 0:01:42.760 all going to be dependent on the company too and 0:01:42.800 --> 0:01:45.720 their resources. You know, I mentioned Amazon they're looking to 0:01:45.760 --> 0:01:48.400 build their own testing lab. What does that look like. 0:01:48.480 --> 0:01:50.200 Is that a centralized lab are they're going to do 0:01:50.200 --> 0:01:52.960 a lot of mini labs in regional centers. That's a 0:01:53.000 --> 0:01:56.080 lot of logistical challenges going into it. There's a lot 0:01:56.080 --> 0:01:59.040 of costs, there's a lot logistical challenges. You know, Amazon 0:01:59.160 --> 0:02:02.840 is obviously a uniquely large and well resourced company with 0:02:02.880 --> 0:02:06.200 the ability to begin now gathering the equipment it needs 0:02:06.240 --> 0:02:09.200 to build a COVID ninet team testing lab for its employees. 0:02:09.560 --> 0:02:11.880 I think some of the medical advisors that I talked 0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:15.079 to said, you might expect to see primary care facilities 0:02:15.240 --> 0:02:18.520 or on site health clinics that companies once had for 0:02:18.600 --> 0:02:23.080 workers become testing facilities. But again, like the big overarching 0:02:23.560 --> 0:02:25.880 problem here is getting access to the test in the 0:02:25.919 --> 0:02:28.760 first place, and so we and others have reported that 0:02:28.800 --> 0:02:32.680 there have been shortages of swabs, shortages of the actual 0:02:32.680 --> 0:02:35.160 equipment needed to conduct the test once it's in the lab. 0:02:35.360 --> 0:02:38.160 So as of now, there are supply issues that are 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:43.919 hindering tests even for basic frontline police, fire, municipal employees 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:48.160 healthcare workers. So overcoming that is pretty important step towards 0:02:48.320 --> 0:02:51.000 the broader public having wide access to testing a lot 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:53.720 of loane individual employers and what the hierarchy is going 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:55.920 to look like for that. Obviously, healthcare workers and as 0:02:55.919 --> 0:02:58.720 you mentioned, some of these other frontline first responders need 0:02:58.800 --> 0:03:00.520 these tests first, and they need to be able to 0:03:00.560 --> 0:03:03.760 ramp their portions of it first. So after that then 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:05.959 does it become a bidding war for these types of 0:03:06.200 --> 0:03:08.840 materials needed. I mean, there's a lot of questions that 0:03:08.960 --> 0:03:11.440 go into it. But it is very much part of 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:14.920 the conversation. I think some polls or some companies that 0:03:14.960 --> 0:03:16.680 you guys have been talking to at the Wall Street Journal, 0:03:17.080 --> 0:03:19.240 there's over a quarter of the companies are looking for 0:03:19.320 --> 0:03:23.320 some type of testing for their employees, and there's disagreement 0:03:23.639 --> 0:03:27.000 among executives even at large employers too. Is it most 0:03:27.080 --> 0:03:30.920 valuable to regularly test people for the coronavirus itself or 0:03:31.040 --> 0:03:33.880 is it better to conduct a broad antibody tests to 0:03:33.880 --> 0:03:37.080 see who has had it and may be immune to it. 0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:39.960 But even what immunity is in the context of this 0:03:40.080 --> 0:03:42.680 virus is unclear. So once you have it, does that 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:44.360 to say you can't get it again? If you are 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:46.640 immune to it, how long does that immunity last. So 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:49.840 there's a lot of unknowns about the coronavirus itself that 0:03:49.920 --> 0:03:52.960 make making a game plan about this really complicated, even 0:03:53.000 --> 0:03:55.600 more so than the logistics we've already talked about with 0:03:55.600 --> 0:03:58.000 actually sourcing the test. Let's talk a little bit about 0:03:58.000 --> 0:04:00.920 how some of this might look in actice. As you mentioned, 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:03.680 some of these bigger companies can repurpose parts of their 0:04:03.680 --> 0:04:06.480 companies so they can do testing. But to do that testing. 0:04:06.480 --> 0:04:08.640 We've all seen those videos of the swab that goes 0:04:08.800 --> 0:04:11.200 way in the back of the throat. I mean sometimes 0:04:11.240 --> 0:04:13.760 the person coughs because it tickles them the wrong way. 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:15.680 So the person that is going to be doing this 0:04:15.760 --> 0:04:18.320 testing will have to be in full on gear. They'll 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:21.000 have to be a trained professional obviously, but also full 0:04:21.000 --> 0:04:24.200 on ppe personal protective equipment. And that's kind of at 0:04:24.200 --> 0:04:27.960 a shortage too sometimes, so another challenge there. And then 0:04:28.320 --> 0:04:31.599 going back to work once restrictions start to ease. Let's 0:04:31.600 --> 0:04:33.479 say we do have some of this testing in place, 0:04:33.839 --> 0:04:35.880 do you make an order saying, you know, older people, 0:04:36.240 --> 0:04:38.479 because they're more at risk, have to continue to work 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:40.400 from home. These are some of the other issues that 0:04:40.400 --> 0:04:43.560 could arise from this just kind of uneven rollout. Nobody 0:04:43.560 --> 0:04:45.880 knows how to do it just yet. You know, in 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:48.040 the past, there's been a pretty clear line in terms 0:04:48.040 --> 0:04:50.200 of what an employer can ask you or know about 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:52.679 you from a health perspective. You can't necessarily ask about 0:04:52.760 --> 0:04:57.560 pre existing conditions or genetic framework or pre existing medical conditions. 0:04:57.760 --> 0:05:01.080 And with this virus, that is something that dictates how 0:05:01.200 --> 0:05:03.440 high risk you are are not in some cases, so 0:05:03.640 --> 0:05:06.559 it starts to open up these really difficult conversations about 0:05:06.600 --> 0:05:10.479 employer versus employee privacy and what your coworkers want to 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:13.120 be assured of before they feel comfortable coming back to work. So, 0:05:13.440 --> 0:05:15.599 you know, in the meantime, you have companies trying to 0:05:15.600 --> 0:05:18.520 stagger shifts, you know, companies that are essential businesses. You know, 0:05:18.560 --> 0:05:20.360 we wrote about it today sort of making it up 0:05:20.360 --> 0:05:22.640 as they go, which is do you distribute master to 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:25.520 your workforce? You try to practice social distancing both on 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:27.840 the factory floor and in the bathroom. How do you 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:30.479 really thinking through each corner of the workplace and to 0:05:30.600 --> 0:05:33.960 try to find some way to limit the spread In 0:05:34.000 --> 0:05:36.120 many ways, it's going to be a fundamental shift for 0:05:36.160 --> 0:05:38.919 a lot of companies in the way they operate going forward. 0:05:39.160 --> 0:05:42.279 And the privacy concern has always been particularly interesting to me, 0:05:42.680 --> 0:05:44.000 just for the way you said. You know, if there's 0:05:44.000 --> 0:05:46.640 an outbreak in the office, people want to know who 0:05:46.680 --> 0:05:48.600 it is because they want to know if they've been 0:05:48.640 --> 0:05:51.279 in contact with that person. But at the same time, 0:05:51.279 --> 0:05:53.880 we have to protect their privacy and their health data. 0:05:54.000 --> 0:05:57.559 So these are all very tricky situations to navigate around, 0:05:57.880 --> 0:06:00.120 and it's a very emotional time for people to right 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:02.760 People are worried about their family and friends. And equally, 0:06:02.839 --> 0:06:05.960 some people are married to frontline workers who they all 0:06:05.960 --> 0:06:07.760 go home together at the end of the day. And 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:10.640 that is something that has always been the case, that 0:06:10.760 --> 0:06:13.560 your workforce may be married someone in a different profession 0:06:13.600 --> 0:06:16.320 that is higher risk than yours, and that becomes relevant 0:06:16.360 --> 0:06:19.159 in this conversation, but it's not something that an employer 0:06:19.200 --> 0:06:21.480 would typically have how to right to ask you about 0:06:21.600 --> 0:06:24.559 or factor into determining whether and when you can return 0:06:24.600 --> 0:06:26.560 to the office. Yeah, I mean, these are all the 0:06:26.560 --> 0:06:28.400 conversations are going to be hearing about how do we 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:31.000 get back and how do we do it? And unfortunately 0:06:31.040 --> 0:06:33.360 it's going to be different all over the world, from 0:06:33.360 --> 0:06:37.040 state to state, city to city, company to company. It's 0:06:37.080 --> 0:06:39.080 going to be an interesting time to see how we 0:06:39.120 --> 0:06:41.960 do it and then what combination of things gets it right. 0:06:42.000 --> 0:06:44.719 So we'll have to monitor all of that. Sarah Krause, 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:46.800 reporter at the Wall Street Journal. Thank you very much 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:52.080 for joining us. Thanks for having me. I'm Oscar Ramires 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:55.359 and this has been your daily coronavirus update. Don't forget that. 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:57.280 For today's big news stories, you can check me out 0:06:57.279 --> 0:07:00.520 on the Daily Dive podcast every Monday through Friday, so 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:02.920 follow us on I Heart Radio or wherever you get 0:07:02.960 --> 0:07:03.760 your podcasts.