Slow testing rollout sets back US coronavirus response
By Peter Sullivan - 03/13/20 06:06 PM EDT
The extremely slow rollout of tests to identify coronavirus cases in the United States is hampering the country’s response to the outbreak and preventing health officials from knowing how far the virus has already spread.
The Trump administration has come under fire from lawmakers, public health officials and medical experts for testing kit missteps that have widely been seen as setting back the country’s ability to respond to the pandemic.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top official at the National Institutes of Health, even acknowledged Thursday in a congressional hearing that “it is a failing†that there is not widespread testing available in the United States.
The harmful effect of the testing failure, experts say, is that there is no way of knowing for sure how far the virus has spread domestically.
“It’s been completely, unacceptably slow,†said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University.
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https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/public-global-health/487521-slow-testing-rollout-sets-back-us-coronavirus-response
