Misconceptions of Lauderdale COVID-19 testing cause frustration in the student body

Recently, students have been frustrated and confused about how to obtain a COVID-19 test from Lauderdale Health Center, and who is eligible to be tested. SUNY Geneseo Health Services does not test everyone for COVID-19, and those who want to be tested for COVID-19 must undergo a physical examination before they may receive a test. 

Georgia Vanderwater, a senior English Literature major, recounted her experience with Lauderdale Health Center. “So, I've tried to get them [COVID-19 tests] twice. I had symptoms, so I called the Health Center and I get a COVID test, and she was, like, ‘Yeah, come in at 10 [AM].”

“And so, I came at 10 [AM] and then when I got there, the lady was like, ‘Well, have you been exposed to COVID?’ I said ‘No, but I have symptoms,’ and she was like, ‘Well, you haven't been exposed so we don't really test you,’ and I was like ‘Well I have symptoms, I want to get tested,’ and she eventually gave in and gave me one.”

“The second time,” said Vanderwater, “I tried to [get a] test that because my housemate tested positive for COVID, and I did not have symptoms. But I live with her, and she had been sick for several days, so I wanted to test it before going to class, just to be responsible.”

Despite Vanderwater’s efforts, “They said that I couldn't get a test with the school because I'm vaccinated and I don't have symptoms. So, even though I was exposed, I wasn't eligible for testing. So, I ended up going to the urgent care and getting [tested].”

Principle Student Health Administrator Megan Syfrett explained the policy on how eligibility is decided. “I think part of the problem is that while we test students for COVID, we're not just going to give you a test, and I think that's where the confusion comes in.”

“So, if a student calls us at Lauderdale, or even if they go over to South Village, and they're saying, ‘Hey, I'm having these symptoms, etc.,’ you'll be assessed and then given an appointment. In that appointment, you'll be further examined by a clinician, so either our medical director, a nurse practitioner, a registered nurse, or a physician assistant. And they'll determine based on your symptoms what they're examining if you require a COVID test,” said Syfrett.

“If we have symptoms, we automatically think it's COVID, and that’s not true. We have allergies, we have colds, we have flus, we have things like that,” said Syfrett. 

“[Students] immediately feel like we're shutting them down, [and as though] we're not going to test them,” said Syfrett. “That’s not the case. The case is that you really have to be examined first by a medical expert before we're just going to hand you a test and say, ‘okay, fine, we'll test you.’”

“It was just, like, a miscommunication or something.” Says Vanderwater. “I told her that I had a sore throat and stuff, and she was like, ‘Okay, you're here for a sore throat’ and I was like ‘Well yeah, I'm here for a COVID test because I just want to make sure that I'm being responsible.’”

“[The Physician’s Assistant] said, ‘Well, we don't just test people for peace of mind.’” Explains Vanderwater. “I don't feel that they should have gone back in person if they weren't fully prepared to, you know, make sure that students felt safe and comfortable and, like, aware of what was going on in the community.”

Other students expressed similar feelings. One student reports, “It kind of seemed like they didn't really care to test me, they kind of were just doing it because they felt like they had to because I wasn't vaccinated.” 

“When I went in, they were just questioning me with my symptoms. When I was telling them they were like, ‘oh ,well this doesn't really sound like COVID.’” said one student. “[The staff at Lauderdale said] ‘I do understand you're unvaccinated and that's the only reason why we are testing you, because if it were any other reason like we probably wouldn't give you the test.’”

“I don't know why the case for this is, why they're not testing people,” said Vanderwater.

Syfrett responded, “It's not that we're not going to test you, we just want to see you and examine you first. I think that's the biggest misconception. And the rumor mill spread so quickly… [Students] say Lauderdale won't test you, don't call them. That's not true. We're a doctor's office and we really want students to utilize us and treat us like a doctor's office.” 

“If you become exposed and you tell them that you're exposed, they shouldn’t be telling you to go back to your normal day like you normally would. That's ridiculous,” said one student.

“I know when my roommate tested positive, she was with her boyfriend the night before. And when her boyfriend called Lauderdale to tell them, ‘Hi, I've been exposed to someone who has COVID,’ their first question was, ‘Well are you vaccinated,’ and he responded with ‘Yeah.’ And they said, ‘Okay, well then go about your normal day like you normally would.’” said one student. 

In an email sent out on October 14, 2021, “SUNY Geneseo has updated the testing requirements for vaccinated students. Vaccinated students are now only required to test ONCE during the remainder of the Fall 2021 semester.”

“We take all of our guidance from SUNY,” said Syfrett. “So, when we heard that other SUNYs were going to be participating in less testing, and with the fact that we have a high vaccination status, we collaborated with Dr. Reddy, who's our medical director, as well as Livingston County Department of Health, to determine what the next best step would be.”

“We've tested 176 symptomatic students, and only 27 of them were positive,” said Syfrett. 

“It doesn't really matter how many people Geneseo says have COVID, because they are testing people who have been exposed to it so they don't really know.” Says Vanderwater. “I feel that they can't keep the student population safe if they don't know how many of us have COVID, and I don't think they can know how many of us have COVID If they're refusing to test people who have been exposed.”

For more information on COVID-19, and SUNY Geneseo’s testing policy, visit https://www.geneseo.edu/covid/dashboard.