Not everyone is satisfied with UW testing once a week for COVID-19; some want to be tested more often.
“I think it’s good, but ineffective. It’s only one a week and anything can happen in that week,” said Gisele Girones, a member of ROTC as well as a political science and environment and natural resources major.
Girones said that she wants UW to test more frequently.
The current supervisor of the testing area in the Union, Hailey Sanderson, said there are mixed opinions about how frequent testing should be.
“Some people don’t want to come by week to week or others want testing to be more frequent.” said Sanderson who graduated with her bachelor’s in pre-veterinary medicine last May.
Girones said she has had two friends that have tested false positives and currently there are three people who have tested positive in Giornes’ dorm at Hill Hall.
Sanderson said that with Vault testing four samples are tested at once. If one of the samples is positive for COVID-19, then all four people whose samples were tested must retake the test.
“For me, everyone using the dorms have been responsible, but I feel like the people living off campus have not been careful,” said Girones.
Girones said that she feels testing should be more frequent than on a weekly basis. She said that in between the period of one week somebody can come into contact with so many people without knowing they had COVID-19.
Sanderson said there are plans to open another testing area in the Crane-Hill dining hall. At the Crane-Hill testing center they will use shield testing rather than the testing service provided by Vault.
“It’s still a saliva test, but it requires less and it is a little faster,” said Sanderson.
The new tests will be added in addition to the Vault tests. Sanderson said that about 1,500 tests will still be through Vault in the Union Ballroom, and another 1,500 will be shield tests at Crane-Hill.
“Right now, we’re supposed to test more in a few weeks,” said Octavio Guerres, a mechanical engineering major, who works with the testing area at the Union Ballroom.
The shield tests will be taken to the UW Vet lab to be assessed.
“It will keep costs down,” Sanderson said. “Each Vault test is $90 with the discount the university has been given.”
In addition, Sanderson said the testing with UW resources will help with the uncertainty of supplies.
“Overall it’s been making people feel better about coming back to campus,” said Sanderson
