WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. John Katko (R, NY-24) this week urged the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to strengthen lead testing and prevention efforts for children in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This push follows a recent report from the CDC showing a troubling decrease in blood lead level (BLL) testing among children during the pandemic and comes as pandemic conditions forced the City of Syracuse to slow implementation of an ordinance to combat child lead poisoning. Katko led this bipartisan effort alongside U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee (D, MI-5).
BLL testing plays a critical role in identifying children who have been exposed to lead and preventing the lifelong consequences associated with exposure. These tests also inform coordination between local health departments, housing agencies, and environmental authorities as they work to appropriately address existing hazards and mitigate lead exposure. Unfortunately, the CDC recently found a troubling decrease in BLL testing during the COVID-19 pandemic, translating to thousands of children with elevated blood levels being missed by screening efforts.
In a letter to the Director of the CDC, Katko urged a renewed emphasis on BLL testing as the country moves toward recovery from the pandemic. He also called on the CDC to take steps to reform the current lead surveillance system, which relies on children, via BLL, to act as detectors of environmental contamination. Katko called on the CDC to expand efforts to detect lead in a child’s environment before they are exposed by increasing home investigation and lead abatement efforts.
Katko wrote, “With vulnerable communities in our districts still reeling from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot allow these same populations to be placed at further risk as a result of undetected lead poisoning. For this reason, 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. These efforts are essential to protecting American children and families from the devastating and lifelong impacts of lead poisoning, while also ensuring that our BLL testing programs are well-situated to continue monitoring for hazards in our communities in years to come.”
Recognizing the significant impact lead poisoning has had on children in the City of Syracuse, Katko has long championed efforts to expand lead testing and remediation. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development pulled annual grant funding for the lead abatement program in the City of Syracuse because proper testing guidelines were not being followed. However, in 2018, following Katko’s advocacy, HUD approved funding to restart the program, which is currently a collaborative effort between the City of Syracuse and Onondaga County. The County recently received $5.6 million in funding through this program.
Additionally, last month, Katko reintroduced the Preventing Lead Poisoning Act, a bipartisan bill that would expand testing for lead exposure among children enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Katko originally unveiled this bill in 2019 at a roundtable discussion on lead remediation with former U.S. Secretary of HUD Ben Carson, as well officials from the City of Syracuse, Onondaga County, and local housing organizations.
The full text of Rep. Katko’s letter can be found below:
Dear Dr. Walensky,
Thank you for your work in response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. As our nation continues responding to the immediate impact of this unprecedented public health crisis, it is critical that we also take the necessary steps to maintain critical components of our public health infrastructure, especially those intended to protect the most vulnerable among us. With this challenge in mind, we write to bring attention to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that showed a troubling decrease in blood lead level (BLL) testing among children during the pandemic. BLL testing remains critical to our nation’s efforts to prevent the devastating long-term impacts of lead exposure, and we write to request additional information on steps that can be taken to strengthen BLL testing during the pandemic and as our country moves toward recovery.
As you know, lead exposure can have severe and potentially fatal neurological impacts on children. BLL testing plays a critical role in proactively identifying children who have been exposed, 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. For many of our constituents, BLL testing plays an essential role in accessing available care and preventing the lifelong consequences associated with lead exposure.
Given the significant role that BLL testing plays in ensuring the wellbeing of many American families, the impact of COVID-19 on BLL testing raises significant concerns regarding our nation’s efforts to prevent lead poisoning. In a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) released by the CDC in February, researchers found that 34% fewer children received BLL testing during the period between January and May of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019. According to the MMWR, this decline in testing translates to an estimated 9,603 children with elevated BLLs being missed by screening efforts. 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 our districts still reeling from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot allow these same populations to be placed at further risk as a result of undetected lead poisoning. For this reason, 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. These efforts are essential to protecting American children and families from the devastating and lifelong impacts of lead poisoning, while also ensuring that our BLL testing programs are well-situated to continue monitoring for hazards in our communities in years to come.
We also encourage 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. Primary prevention efforts for lead, as recommended by the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics, should focus on the detection of lead in a child’s environment before a child is exposed. Primary prevention efforts, such as home investigations and lead abatements, are paramount when considering the potentially life-altering consequences of lead exposure. Notably, expanding resources for these efforts would play a critical role in recognizing and addressing historic inequities in our communities, and should therefore be a leading priority in our response to the threat of lead exposure.
Thank you for your time and attention to this request. We look forward to your response.
Press release from John Katko’s press office.
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