Tricare Issues an Apology Statement After Telling 600k Beneficiaries They've Had COVID-19

Recent reports said, over 600,000 users of Tricare in the military health system's East Region received emails on Friday, asking them to consider donating blood for research as COVID-19 survivors.

However, the email reportedly came as a surprise, specifically to beneficiaries as only 31,000 people associated with the US military have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

One of the beneficiaries wrote on Facebook saying, and he wondered if anybody else was sent an email by Tricare. 

The email, he said, specifically indicated that since he was a COVID survivor, and was eventually asked to donate his plasma when in fact, was not even tested for the virus.

Human Military, the firm managing Tricare reportedly issued to call to donors of blood near military installations that collect plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients.

The said plasma is also known as "convalescent plasma" which is said to be a "potential cure for the infectious disease."

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Message Sent to All?

The email message seeking a donation of blood, reports indicate, went to every beneficiary based near a collection point.

As stated in the email, as a COVID-19 survivor, it is safe for one to have his whole blood or blood plasma donated, and this donation, in turn, could help other patients of the illness.

The survivor's plasma, it added, has proteins or antibodies present that could help combat the infection brought by COVID-19.

To date, the email also stated, "There is no cure for COVID-19." Nevertheless, there is information suggesting that plasma from survivors "like you" might be able to help other patients to recover quicker from this fatal illness.

'Mea Culpa' Issued

Six hours after issuance of the said email, Humana, according to reports, issued a "mea culpa." In an effort to inform beneficiaries residing within the proximities of convalescent plasma donation facilities about opportunities in collecting plasma, it said, they received an email "incorrectly" which suggested they were a COVID-19 survivor.

Also indicated in the company's "mea culpa," was that the said recipients of the email have not been identified as a survivor of COVID-19 and that they "apologize for the error and any confusion" the electronic mail may have resulted in. 

According to the firm's corporate communication lead, Marvin Hill, they are "apologizing for the confusion which the original message caused."

The message, Hill said, which was delivered to recipients according to their nearness to a plasma collection center "and not on any medical diagnosis or information."

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An Initiative to Assist its Partner Agency

In the company's statement of apology, Hill explained that as part of an initiative to educate military beneficiaries about the opportunities in donating convalescent plasma, they were asked to assist their partner agency, the Defense Health Agency.

The email sent to roughly 600,000 beneficiaries created an impression that the company was trying to reach only people who had tested positive for the virus.

Therefore, they followed the first email fast, with a clearer and more accurate second email acknowledging such an error." And because of such a mistake, Hill said, "We apologize."

Incidentally, the Defense Department, in late May, announced, it was planning to collect "8,000 units of plasma by end-September," from COVID-19 patients. They recovered, part of a nationwide initiative to evaluate the efficacy of plasma as a treatment for the said infectious disease.

However, just this month, the department officials announced they "have increased the target to 10,000." As of this writing, the DoD has already been able to collect "4,601 units."

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