"This ain't the time to follow rules": Texas A&M wants to run human coronavirus tests in its animal

[TexasTowelie]

"This ain't the time to follow rules": Texas A&M wants to run human coronavirus tests in its animal labs

by Sami Sparber, Texas Tribune


Texas A&M University System officials say they have the largest public laboratory capacity in the state to analyze tests for the new coronavirus. Only one problem: The labs are designed to serve animals, and university system officials say the federal government won’t let them use the facilities for human tests.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services generally requires people with human lab experience to oversee human testing. To ramp up coronavirus testing in Texas, the A&M System is seeking a waiver for its Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory — but officials say their requests have been denied.

A&M System Chancellor John Sharp said the “federal red tape” is preventing Texas from making full use of the lab, which he said has years of experience testing animals with the same method used to test for the coronavirus.

“Red tape is one thing, but red tape in the middle of a pandemic is pretty ridiculous,” Sharp said in an interview. “This ain’t the time to follow the rules, this is the time to follow common sense and open up facilities that they know are some of the best in the country.”

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/29/texas-coronavirus-tests/

[Jirel]

1. That rule shouldn't just be broken, but shattered.

A bio test lab is a bio test lab. Same tests, same processes, same everything. It’s idiocy to hold up testing just because it’s a lab that normally serves non-human animals.