As the U.S. continues to grapple with testing, tracing, and controlling the spread of COVID-19, some are floating the idea of a TSA Public Health Corps to help control the spread of virus at U.S. airports.
A Vision For A TSA Public Health Corps
Rey Koslowski, a professor of political science, University at Albany (SUNY), makes the case in The Hill. His prose reads much more academic than journalistic, but I’ll sum up his thought process using bullet points:
- Problem #1: many major tourist destinations have coronavirus infection rates much higher than the states to which tourists return.
- Asymptomatic (or pre-symptomatic) persons account for an estimated 40% of COVID-19 infections.
- Problem #2: many Americans will not fly because they fear getting on a flight with asymptomatic coronavirus carriers.
- Problem #3: At 3,667 coronavirus cases per 100,000, TSA screening personnel have more cases per capita than any U.S. state and any country other than Qatar.
- TSA Public Health Corps officers could begin screening travelers with FDA-approved antigen point-of-care tests that provide results within 15 minutes.
- All passengers, crew, airline and airport staff would be tested for COVID-19 before they enter airports.
- Even if false-negative rate is as high as 20% with antigen test, that would still result in a far more effective way to pinpoint passengers than social distancing.
- TSA could recruit within its own ranks, choosing those in lower-risk groups to lead this new division of the agency.
- If Congress does not appropriate funding for this program, states can embark upon their own programs and large states like New York should do so immediately.
- “If the U.S. Secret Service division of the Department of Homeland Security can manage to test the president and anyone who gets close to him with a 15-minute coronavirus test and the Department of Defense can manage to administer 60,000 coronavirus tests per week, why can’t the DHS manage to reorganize some of its resources to enable the TSA to test passengers departing airports in coronavirus hotspots, especially if they are major tourist destinations?”
Not So Fast…
The concept is to be lauded…indeed, the idea of contact tracing and testing is something I called upon all of us to insist from our leaders months ago. I’ve repeatedly said that rapid testing the key to consumer confidence in the airline sector. We’re probably far too late and far too large of a nation for effective contact tracing.
But I’m sorry to say I simply do not see the will nor the resources to get this done. At this point, I have no faith in both state and federal governments to set up the sort of testing facilities that could indeed accomplish much of what a TSA Public Health Corps could theoretically accomplish.
The second problem is the TSA itself. I’m not comfortable with tasking an agency that lets through over 90% of weapons during undercover tests with protecting public health. While a federal solution makes sense from a consistency perspective, spending billions to enlarge the Department of Homeland Security is not appealing.
The final problem seems to be access to testing supplies. The author of the piece hedges his bet in so many places concerning timelines and does not delve into cost. He lauds states for “committing” to purchase 3.5 million antigen tests, but the sort of volume necessary to conduct widespread testing in the United States is staggering. This should not be a problem, but it has proven a problem for months. It is still difficult to get a PCR test in Los Angeles even now. Testing remains elusive.
CONCLUSION
While access to rapid testing remains a gaping hole in the battle against COVID-19 in the USA, creating a TSA Public Health Corps does not appear to be the solution. Instead, the solution seems to be rapid and widespread testing, which continues to be a huge bottleneck no matter who administers it.
Are you in favor of a TSA Public Health Corps?
image: TSA
I’m curious what the logistics would be. So you get results in 15 minutes, that’s a pretty huge queue you have to manage at the terminal. Where does everyone wait such that they can still social distance? Large areas post screening would need to be set up.
Also, 20% false negative is pretty high. 8 or so per thousand will be infected and allowed to travel on at 3.6% infection rate. And what about false positives? With just a 3% false positive, a full 50% of those testing positive will actually be infected. That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Would airlines be required to compensate those unfairly prevented from traveling on?
There’s so many operational challenges to this. The blame the federal government shtick is getting old, there are no easy solutions until there is a vaccine.
Oops, switch false positive with false negative, it’s early.
There have been almost no infections traced to flying — flying is safe. This is creating a (very expensive!) solution for a problem that doesn’t exist.
@James, Really…… flying is how this virus spread, country to country, passenger to passenger, lots of cases of the virus being caught by flying – I saw on the BBC news a report of a study (maybe before the mask suggestion) that if a contagious passenger in a middle seat is spreading, there is a 70 to 100% chance of the people either side and in the rows ahead and behind catching . So it’s a real problem that really does exist, the majority of people have “spoken” by not flying, and at long last the government is making an attempt at some sensible remedial actions.
People don’t get sick on the plane itself, they get sick at their origin/destination. This is more or less proven with the air circulation from top to bottom, super HEPA filtration, and face covering preventing the SARS from spreading.
No Thanks! If one looks at the breakdown of airline ticket prices, Half of it goes to taxes & fees!
To create another offshoot of a huge bloated TSA bureaucracy is crazy! I still have to take shoes & belts even though I have a TSA pre check, which doesn’t work well all the time! If TSA can’t get catch contraband 80% of time in blind tests, how well are they going to run covid testing?
Even with increasing covid cases nationwide the hospitalizations & deaths are still way below the supposed statistical models! So please forget the ninnies & nannies they can stay home with their masks but let the rest Of us move on! So let’s live & let’s fly!
The Fear factor continues so state can use Force factor to run your life! Here in US the country of liberty & freedom, but now that’s regarded selfish by mainstream media & powers to be:(
Fact that TSA misses 90 % of covert tests is a blatant, ignorant lie that is trying to accomplish what?!Author has discredited himself and whole article is a compete joke…
Oh sorry. 95%.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/tsa-fails-tests-latest-undercover-operation-us-airports/story?id=51022188
https://www.cnn.com/2015/06/01/politics/tsa-failed-undercover-airport-screening-tests/index.html
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tsa-fails-95-percent-tests-homeland-security_n_7485558
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jul/6/tsa-failed-detect-95-percent-prohibited-items-minn/
The number 95% has been reported as if screeners missed all guns and bombs that went through. These were tests designed to identify vulnerability and screening equipment reliability.
Go ahead and try to take a gun through TSA , you will find yourself on the opposite side of your statistics, caught and arrested
This is the same TSA that likes to doodle on boarding passes just to keep themselves entertained and/or look competent, right?
Yeah no thanks.