America's Coronavirus Testing Still Isn't Moving Fast Enough

[LiberalArkie]

March 9, 2020

Nearly two weeks after the new coronavirus was first found to be spreading among Americans, the United States remains dangerously limited in its capacity to test people for the illness, an ongoing investigation from The Atlantic has found.

After surveying local data from across the country, we can only verify that 4,384 people have been tested for the coronavirus nationwide, as of today at 4 p.m. eastern time. These data are as comprehensive a compilation of official statistics as currently possible.

The lack of testing means that it is almost impossible to know how many Americans are infected with the coronavirus and suffering from COVID-19, the disease it causes. While our analysis has tracked state and local announcements that more than 570 people in 36 states are infected, experts say that number is almost certainly too small to reflect the full extent of the disease’s spread in the U.S. Not enough Americans have been tested for officials to know how many people are ill, they say.

When researchers have used statistical and genetic techniques to estimate the true size of the outbreak, they have concluded that thousands of Americans may have already been infected by the beginning of the month. Health officials have attributed 26 deaths to COVID-19 in the United States, as of today.

Snip

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/03/coronavirus-testing-numbers/607714/


(U.S. has tested 0.0013% of the population.)

[LonePirate]

1. Keep in mind a negative test today does not mean the person will not test positive in a week or two.

Testing needs to be massive and ongoing, perhaps repeated a few times for each person.

[Leghorn21]

2. We haven't even started, really

[Princess Turandot]

3. NYS and NYC have a request into the FDA to allow certain labs here to use automated testing..

..systems. There are several academic/teaching hospitals that are ready to do this, as well as some commercial labs. But they need federal authorization. As of last night, they haven't gotten a response.

This isn't a home pregnancy test. The testing involves multiple stages, including processing of the sample in two different machines. Right now, roughly speaking, human techs prepare the sample and the reagent, cook it a little in a warming device, then transfer the treated genetic material to yet another machine, which compares the genetic material to a standard 'profile' for the virus. Much of that can be automated/streamlined, which will greatly increase the amount of tests that can be done in one day. That method is already used by the labs in questions to examine samples for other types of viruses. But they can't use it for COVID-19 without permission.