Free Republic

Testing for the novel coronavirus continues to face severe limitations... The shortfall compounds a month of sluggish progress in deploying diagnostic tests developed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and, if not quickly remedied, will continue to substantially undercount infected patients and could hinder efforts to contain the outbreak. The chemicals needed, known as reagents, are used to extract genetic material from a nasal swab sample, among the first steps in the testing process. Demand for reagents has left a key supplier struggling to keep pace with orders from countries around the world. The new information provides...