People familiar with the business of fighting diseases do not share the Trump administration's view that its efforts to contain the outbreak are "pretty close to airtight." William Schaffner, an epidemiologist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville calls that "extraordinarily optimistic
WASHINGTON — Seventy-five thousand. That was the number of coronavirus tests that Dr. Nancy Messonnier, a top immunologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said could be performed by public health laboratories by the end of the week. The CDC had badly lagged in implementing its test, but was now intent on catching up.
That’s in large part because public health officials are playing catch-up to a fast-moving virus that has already spread to 13 states. The epicenter of the U.S. outbreak is in and around Seattle, with 10 people having died in Washington state. But as of midweek, public health officials there had tested only 200 samples, said Chelsea Kellogg, a spokesperson for Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan.
That acknowledgement was a deviation from the administration’s attitude, which has ranged from can-do optimism of the sort displayed by Pence to something approaching a kind of dismissive swagger, as when acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney claimed that media coverage of the virus was intentionally overstating its danger because “they think this is going to be what brings down the president.
On Jan. 16, the World Health Organization began to distribute test kits in China’s Hubei province. American officials, however, decided to develop a test of their own. Why they did this is not exactly clear. Microbiologists in the United States may well have wanted the bragging rights that come with a proprietary test, as opposed to using a test that comes from abroad. They may have also underestimated how long it would take to develop a test.
Quartarone, the CDC spokesperson, explained to Yahoo News that Azar was incorrect about the number of people who had been tested, because people undergo more than one test. “Many patients have had multiple samples submitted and tested, especially among the initial cases, so CDC could understand how long the virus persisted in the body and what specimens were the best for accurate testing purposes,” he said.
The routinely sensationalistic Daily Mail went even further, proclaiming that “Pence promises a MILLION coronavirus tests will be run this week.” Neither Pence nor any other member of the White House coronavirus has made such a promise. The real bottleneck, however, is not with the number of tests available but the number of sites where those tests can be conducted. Until just days ago, privately held laboratories were not permitted to conduct testing on their own. Trump blamed an Obama-era rule that he said hobbled the administration’s ability to enlist nonpublic entities in the fight. But when asked about what that rule could be, Schaffner, the Vanderbilt epidemiologist, said he was not aware of such a rule’s existence.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Louis tTe Child & Foster The People's 'Every Color': ListenThe festival-ready single sounds primed to soundtrack the trip from the drinks tent to the dance stage.
Read more »
People Are Stocking Up on Oat Milk Because of CoronavirusAs a precaution to increasing reports of coronavirus, U.S. consumers have taken to gathering supplies. A spike in mask purchases has prompted Home Depot to…
Read more »
Prince William Made a Coronavirus Joke and People Are Not HappyHe made the comment to a paramedic during his royal tour of Ireland.
Read more »
US tries to identify people in contact with infected coronavirus screener at LAXUS officials are trying to identify people who came in contact with a worker at Los Angeles International Airport who tested positive for coronavirus, acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan told reporters Thursday.
Read more »
DHS denies 241 people entry at US ports and airports over coronavirusThe US Department of Homeland Security refused entry into the country to 241 people within the past month because of the coronavirus, DHS data shows
Read more »
U.S. will be able to test 400,000 people for coronavirus by week's end: officialsU.S. health officials said on Thursday they expect to be able to get enough coro...
Read more »