Posted on 03/12/2020 4:34:01 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
America has failed to meet the capacity for coronavirus testing that it needs, a top public health official publicly acknowledged Thursday.
"The system is not really geared to what we need right now," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a House hearing about coronavirus test kits in the United States, which were initially dogged by technical glitches. "That is a failing. Let's admit it."
Fauci was responding to a question from Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Florida, who asked about a claim by trade organization National Nurses United alleging that "countless" health care workers exposed to the coronavirus have been refused a test for it.
When the virus first started appearing in America, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had narrow criteria for who could be tested for it, further limiting the number of tests performed on top of the technical problems. Those guidelines have since been expanded. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, who was also testifying in the hearing, directed Wasserman Schultz's question to Fauci.
"The idea of anybody getting it easily the way people in other countries are doing it, we're not set up for that," Fauci told Wasserman Schultz. "Do I think we should be? Yes. But we're not."
The blunt acknowledgment came as the CDC reported it had tested just over 11,000 specimens for the virus so far, far fewer than other nations, especially given that multiple specimens are needed for each patient. Meanwhile, South Korea is testing nearly 20,000 patients per day, according to the BBC.
In response to Fauci, Wasserman Schultz said: "That's really disturbing, and I appreciate the information."
The question came a week after a nurse exposed to the virus in northern California said in a statement through National Nurses United
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
LMAO!
Up until this week, the CDC had to “confirm” tests. That why you saw the term “presumptive cases.”
The CDC tried to monopolize the process, whereas other countries turn to the private sector. It took off and got out of hand.
Here in Washington state the University of Washington lab has tested over 4,300 as of today. Each day they find about 100 who test positive out of each thousand tested.
Outdoor it be we cannot get the chemicals from China...???
The influenza flu can be diagnosed within an hour but that's been around for decades. This is a new virus that has been thrown at us and it's going to take time before immediate testing protocols can be in place.
What good does it do to get tested? To tell you that you may get sick?
Just from heading the DNC.
Maybe after they test everyone here in the Wuhan Washington epicenter we will start distributing tests to the other states.
The only countries that appear to have a handle on this thing so far is S. Korea and Singapore, due to heavy testing, contact tracing and quarantines of contacts.
ah.
I’ve never trusted Fauci, and put him in the same category as Jeff Sessions, i.e., a plant by DS to sabotage PDJT. Just sayin’... I could be wrong.
That guy has been in that job for about 30 years.
Looking at Trump’s tweets it is interesting that he retweeted this article. While Trump is no doubt well aware of CDC incompetence, I think there has probably been a lot of testing done behind the CDC’s back. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-12/a-berlin-biotech-company-got-a-head-start-on-coronavirus-tests?utm_medium=social&utm_content=businessweek&utm_source=twitter&cmpid=socialflow-twitter-businessweek&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic
Testing doesn't control the spread either. All it can do is inform about the spread, death rate, transmission rate, and if enough tests are done, some idea about infection rate in the general population.
”Screw “tests”. Get real“
Sorry I don’t follow. What do you mean by that?
Do you actually have access to the new tests specific for COVID-19? Our hospital has to send tests to a different city, as of Monday past, anyway.
So only good people keep jobs for long periods of time. Gotcha.
RE: Up until this week, the CDC had to “confirm” tests. That why you saw the term “presumptive cases.”
That’s the wrong way to do it.
The reason we have 50 states is in order to DECENTRALIZE work, not centralize all decisions in Washington DC.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.