Swabs Collected by Patients or Health Care Workers for SARS-CoV-2 Testing

To the Editor: The early medical response to the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States was limited in part by the availability of testing. Health care workers collected a swab sample from the patients’ oropharynx or nasopharynx according to testing guidelines for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. This procedure potentially increased the risk of transmission of the virus to health care workers who lacked sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE).

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