Washington State Recalls 12,000 COVID-19 Test Kits Due To 'Possible Contamination'

Washington state recalled about 12,000 coronavirus specimen collection kits due to possible contamination. Although the issue was found on a small number of viral transport media (VTM) vials, the state Department of Health (DOH) chose to recall the batch "out of an abundance of caution."

It was on April 17 when the University of Washington Medicine (UW Medicine) alerted the Washington state DOH to discontinue using a batch of COVID-19 specimen collection kits due to a "quality control issue," particularly regarding the VTM fluid tubes.

VTM is the fluid used to preserve the specimen, such as nasal swabs from patients, during transport. According to Washington DOH, some of the VTM vials had an unusual color, prompting UW Medicine and DOH to investigate "potential contamination."

The DOH noted that the initial testing at UW Medicine revealed that the issue discovered in the "small number" of VTM tubes did not affect the test results. However, while the investigation is still ongoing, the DOH is recalling both the VTM and the nasal collection swabs "out of an abundance of caution."

"Though the quality control issue has only been observed in a small number of tubes of viral transport media, we adhere to the highest quality standards for COVID-19 testing in Washington state," Secretary of Health John Wiesman said, Sunday (April 19), in a news release from the DOH. "We are working with our partners to have them discard the product and will work to replace them as quickly as we can."

DOH officials believe that the quality control issue with the VTM poses no health risks for patients since they do not come in contact with the VTM. As for the jurisdictions that were affected by the recall, they are encouraged to contact DOH for replacements.

"DOH and state supplies aren't adequate at the moment to immediately replace all swabs and VTM transport tubes, however, a large shipment of swabs from another vendor is expected this week and the state has VTM from another vendor," DOH said. "The state is working closely with both the UW Medicine and local health partners to replace the recalled specimen collection kits as quickly as possible."

As of 11:59 p.m. PT on April 19, Washington state has reported 12,085 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 652 deaths. The state has conducted a total of 141,011 tests, 8.6 percent of which turned up positive.