CAMP MURRAY, Wash.—On April 17, 2020, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) was alerted by UW Medicine to discontinue use of a recently-procured batch of COVID-19 specimen collection kits that UW Medicine believed may have a quality control issue. As a result, on April 16 DOH recalled approximately 12,000 kits sent to local health jurisdictions, tribal nations, and state agency partners across the state.

“Though the quality control issue has only been observed in a small number of tubes of viral transport media, we adhere to the highest quality standards for COVID-19 testing in Washi...