Letter to Hon. Matthew P. Donovan, Under Secretary of Defense, Personnel and Readiness - Tillis Urges Pentagon to Test Servicemembers, Military Families for Covid-19

Letter

Dear Mr. Donovan,
As the U.S. military continues to face the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are writing to you
to urge the Department of Defense to begin rapid surveillance testing of military personnel, their
families, civilian employees, and contractors in order to save lives, preserve hospital capacity, and
maintain military readiness.
One of the lessons we have learned this year is that coronavirus is spread via asymptomatic or lightly
symptomatic individuals. As you know, the New England Journal of Medicine recently published a
study of over 1,800 U.S. Marine Corps recruits. This study showed the challenge of detecting
coronavirus based largely on symptoms. More than 90% of the individuals who tested positive for
coronavirus in the study were not symptomatic.1 This study utilized the molecular PCR test for its
analysis. However, the U.S. military does not have the time, resources, or capacity to utilize PCR testing
for its entire population of servicemembers, family members, civilians, and contractors.
We urge you to immediately make plans to utilize the latest rapid antigen tests for coronavirus to detect
the asymptomatic carriers of coronavirus. Last month Slovakia successfully tested a large majority of its
population over a two week period and found almost as many positive individuals in one weekend with
antigen testing as they found with PCR testing since the start of the pandemic.2 As a result of their
widespread surveillance antigen testing, Slovakia is now seeing significant drops in new cases.3 Similar
efforts are underway in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.4
We understand that rapid testing of military personnel, families, civilians, and contractors must be
followed up with a PCR test. Also, a negative result on a rapid antigen test does not in any way remove
the need for continued policies including face masks, physical distancing, and other countermeasures.
Given the extremely lower cost of an antigen test compared to a PCR test, the Department of Defense
already has the resources to conduct multiple antigen tests over a two-week or four-week period, similar
to the U.S. Marine Corps study, to help reduce the chance of a false-negative test result.

Thank you for your commitment and steady leadership during this time and we look to working with
you to find solutions and maintain the readiness of our military force.

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