Hundreds of millions of coronavirus tests have been run in labs across the country since the pandemic first hit.
Behind every single one of those tests is a team of people. I wrote about a few of them, and the herculean efforts they've put in. 1/
nytimes.com/2020/12/03/hea…
Behind every single one of those tests is a team of people. I wrote about a few of them, and the herculean efforts they've put in. 1/
nytimes.com/2020/12/03/hea…
The world has never asked this much of clin micro and public health lab workers.
Tests are not just pushed buttons and sloshing liquids. They make fingers ache. They make eyes water. They require sprinting back and forth, and perfect pipetting precision. 2/
Tests are not just pushed buttons and sloshing liquids. They make fingers ache. They make eyes water. They require sprinting back and forth, and perfect pipetting precision. 2/
We do not often look inside these labs. And for decades, that's been okay. “We’re accustomed to holding things up in the background," one scientist told me. "We enjoy doing it because we know we’re helping people.” 3/
Infectious disease tests have never so heavily commanded public attention. Much of that attention has been critical and contentious. And the people behind the tests are lost. 4/
In interviews, so many people told me they loved their jobs. It broke their hearts not to be able to deliver super-fast tests to every single person who wants one. They said they handled every sample because each one was a life: a person's safety, comfort, health. 5/
They also said they were terrified of being portrayed as martyrs. They didn't want the spotlight, they said. They just wanted everyone to be safe and well, and understand how testing is done. 6/
I hope this piece helped to do that, just a little.
It was an honor to report it. 7/
It was an honor to report it. 7/
Thank you to @melmillerphd and Liz Stoeppler at UNC; @paigemklarkin and Chris Sutherland at NorthShore; @KarissaPhD at TriCore; April Abbott and Chelsa Ashley at Deaconess; @omaigarner at UCLA... 8/
... @darcyavelasquez and @SJLovesMicro at Children's Colorado; @MidwestMicrobes and Marissa Larson at KU; Tyler Murray and Natalie Williams-Bouyer at UTMB; Taylor Smith at Georgia's PHL; Joanne Bartkus, formerly of Minnesota's PHL 9/
And a massive thank you to my editor, @alanburdick, who took a chance with this piece and offered phenomenal feedback along the way, and @McMarbled, who helped adorn the piece with gorgeous photos. And thank you for reading. 10/10
nytimes.com/2020/12/03/hea…
nytimes.com/2020/12/03/hea…
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