The US Is Disastrously Behind in Covid-19 Testing. Again (wired.com)
In most places in America, it’s not hard to get a Covid-19 test right now. You can walk into a clinic, pharmacy, even your local Wal-Mart, and walk out again, nose swabbed, without too much trouble. Getting the results of your test, on the other hand ... well, let’s just say you should be prepared to wait. And wait.
This is a largely different problem than the testing woes that plagued America’s pandemic response in the early months of March and April. Back then, supply shortages, faulty test kits, and federal regulations limiting testing to only certain kinds of labs hindered widespread availability of tests.
Since then, diagnostics manufacturers have significantly boosted production of the materials required to conduct Covid-19 tests. The federal government moved to require that Covid-19 testing be covered by both public and private insurers. Laboratories dramatically ramped up capacity. Today, the US tests 174 people out of every 100,000, second only to Hong Kong in per capita testing. According to the Covid Tracking Project, the US is testing about 725,000 people per day, up from about 640,000 a month ago.
- Log in to post comments