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Coronavirus testing is 'a mess' in the US, report says
There are no national standards for what kind of tests should be used and in what settings. Right now testing is just a crazy jumbled-up quilt across the nation.
Related: Smart Testing for COVID-19 Virus and Antibodies
5/21/20
Coronavirus testing in the United States is disorganized and needs coordination at the national level, infectious disease experts said in a new report released Wednesday. Right now, testing is not accurate enough to use alone to make most decisions, including who should go back to work or to school, the team at the University of Minnesota said. "It's a mess out there," Mike Osterholm, head of the university's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), which issued the report. "Testing is very, very important, but we're not doing the right testing." "The data is really kind of screwed up," Osterholm said. "It's because the public health system is overwhelmed." The report has some specific recommendations for diagnostic tests that check to see if someone is currently infected with coronavirus.
The report also says that antibody tests should be used only with caution. These tests check the blood for evidence of an immune response to the virus, and indicate that someone has been infected for some days or has even cleared an infection. It's not clear if antibody tests are useful for testing of health care workers to determine immune status, according to the report. "We believe that greatly expanding SARSCoV-2 testing is a critical element in our response to COVID-19," the report reads. "For testing to be maximally effective, coordination across the system and across jurisdictions is necessary. Ideally, this requires federal guidance, leadership and support, with strong jurisdictional buy-in at the state and local levels." The report calls on the US Department of Health and Human Services to appoint a panel to oversee and organize testing.
There are no national standards for what kind of tests should be used and in what settings. Right now testing is just a crazy jumbled-up quilt across the nation.
Related: Smart Testing for COVID-19 Virus and Antibodies
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