Petition for COVID Transparency

Now that the World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized the importance of Ct values, it is even more critical that you take action! 

As a resident of the State of Rhode Island, I hereby petition the state Department of Health to take action to collect and publish critical “cycle threshold” data … a key metric by which the severity of positive tests can be judged. 

This data, which measures “viral load” (how much of the virus is present) and which is routinely collected by labs that conduct covid PCR tests, can be critically important in determining public policy and individual regimens.

Dr. Anthony Fauci and the New York Times have determined that for many who test positive, minuscule levels of the virus pose virtually no individual or community risk. Neither the public nor patients should be kept in the dark about this vital data. 

By signing this petition, I demand that the Rhode Island Department of Health formally and comprehensively begin to collect and report all available “cycle threshold” data obtained from all affiliated testing labs, and immediately publish detailed and anonymous summaries of whatever related data it may possess now or may obtain in the future. 

This data is vital for two important reasons:

  1. PUBLIC POLICY: In determining how many positive tests may be non-contagious, certain public policy decisions with regard to lockdowns, gathering restrictions, and quarantines might be reduced or more targeted.
  1. PERSONAL MEDICAL RIGHTS: At the individual level, it is the right of every patient to be privately informed of all of their own medical information, including their personal level of viral load. Further, such information would be critical in determining clinical decisions and medical therapy, as well as guiding decisions on who might need to be quarantined, barred from working, or banned from visiting their loved ones. 

Recently the subject of national media attention, and recognition by the World Health Organization, the government withholding of “cycle threshold” testing data is becoming an increasingly important issue.

In early December, Florida became the first state to begin collecting this data. In more fully and accurately reporting Rhode Island’s coronavirus testing results, our state can establish itself as a national leader when it comes to testing transparency.