With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic slowing efforts in blood lead level (BLL) testing among children, U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) recently urged the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to strengthen BLL testing, which plays a critical role in identifying children who have been exposed to lead, mitigating potential exposure points, and providing responsive care to impacted children and families.
“Critically, these tests also inform coordination between local health departments, housing agencies and environmental authorities to respond appropriately to existing hazards and mitigate lead exposure in our communities,” Rep. Katko and his colleague U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI) wrote in a letter sent to CDC Director Rochelle Walensky. “For many of our constituents, BLL testing plays an essential role in accessing available care and preventing the lifelong consequences associated with lead exposure.”
The congressmen also cited a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) released by the CDC in February in which researchers found that 34 percent fewer children received BLL testing during the period between January and May 2020 compared with the same period in 2019, according to their letter.
“According to the MMWR, this decline in testing translates to an estimated 9,603 children with elevated BLLs being missed by screening efforts,” wrote Rep. Katko and his colleague. “Additionally, all 34 reporting jurisdictions included in this analysis reported fewer children being tested since the beginning of the COVID-19 emergency declaration in March 2020.”
With vulnerable communities in their districts “still reeling from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the members wrote that they “cannot allow these same populations to be placed at further risk as a result of undetected lead poisoning.”
“For this reason,” they wrote, “we request recommendations from the CDC on steps that can be taken to improve rates of BLL testing during the COVID-19 pandemic and as our nation moves toward recovery.”
Rep. Katko and his colleague also encouraged the CDC to use this opportunity of decreased blood lead screening to “re-envision a surveillance system” based on environmental lead screening.
“Currently, children, via blood lead screening, are being used as detectors of environmental contamination,” they wrote.