Dr. Anthony Fauci 'Not Overly Confident' With U.S. COVID-19 Testing Capabilities
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, says “we are not in a situation where we can say we are exactly where we want to be with regard to testing” capacity for COVID-19 in the U.S.
Fauci, in a discussion for TIME 100 Talks: Finding Hope on Thursday, says that the U.S. needs to not only increase the number of tests, which is happening as commercial testing companies increase production and the Food and Drug Administration continues to clear tests using different types of samples (including ones from the nose and saliva, as well as blood). But, he says, we also needs to make sure tests can actually be run the way they should.
“We need to significantly ramp up not only the number of tests, but the capacity to perform them, so that you don’t have a situation where you have a test but it can’t be done because there isn’t a swab, or because there isn’t extraction media, or not the right vial,” says Fauci. “I am not overly confident right now at all that we have what it takes to do that. We are doing better, and I think we are going to get there, but we are not there yet.”
Fauci has become the scientific soul of the U.S. coronavirus response, and his focus on evidence and fact-based science has often put him at odds with President Donald Trump. Fauci has consistently provided a sober, objective view of the risks the pandemic raises for the health of the American public, as well as highlighted concerns about the country’s response.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/dr-anthony-fauci-not-overly-confident-with-us-covid-19-testing-capabilities/ar-BB136nTx?li=BBnb7Kz
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