Salisbury VA takes a week to send veteran’s COVID-19 test to the lab

SALISBURY, N.C. — A Charlotte veteran and cancer survivor is furious after the VA in Salisbury failed to send her COVID-19 test to the lab until a week after it was taken.

Tina Quizon, a U.S. Navy veteran, started showing symptoms after a possible exposure at her workplace.

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She received a nasal COVID-19 test at the Salisbury VA on the March 17 and on Tuesday, she got a call informing her that her test was not sent to the lab.

"I'm a veteran. How does this happen?" Quizon said. “The White House staff is bragging about how they went to Walter Reed and got their tests back instantly. Here I am told that my test was left on the shelf."

Quizon was able to get another test at the zMax Dragway. Atrium and the Charlotte Motor Speedway are using the site as a temporary coronavirus testing center.

She begged officials for test not knowing if her VA one would be reliable.

"How do you go through all the motions and then just leave the test on the shelf," she said. "This talk about let the grandparents die, I don't think that's what my grandson wants."

A spokesperson for VA did not respond to numerous questions posed by Eyewitness News reporter Joe Bruno, including how this happened, how the test was handled and whether it can still be viewed as accurate.

"Any time a veteran or family member has a concern, we reach out to them directly, just as we have done with the veteran in this case," said Marlous Black, spokesperson for the Salisbury VA.

Speaking generally without intimate knowledge of Quizon's case, health officials expressed skepticism about waiting a week before submitting a COVID-19 test to the lab.

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Mecklenburg County Health Director Gibbie Harris said in a news conference that tests should be sent to the lab right away.

"That is standard practice," Harris said. "I can't think of a reason why we would hold on to a test for a week."

Dr. Ryan Shelton with Tryon Medical Partners said it is not ideal for a test to sit around longer than it has to.

"The collection of the test, the timing, all of those things matter. We take great care to get that part right," Dr. Shelton said. "It's quite possible that the virus may not interact enough that the test would be altered, or the trustworthiness of the test would be less because that specimen sat too long."

Health officials with the Department of Health and Human Services pointed to provider guidance on how tests should be handled.

The guidance show specimens can be rejected if they are more than 72 hours old and not frozen at -70 degrees Celsius and shipped on dry ice.

Quizon worries if this happened to her, it may be happening to other veterans.

"It's just not right," she said. "I'm in a Catch 22. I've been tested, but no one has done anything with my test. I have family I need to let know. I have coworkers. I need to pay bills."

As of Friday evening, Quizon has not yet received results from either of her two tests.