The Trump administration has ordered an independent investigation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lab, and the manufacturing of the virus test kits has been moved to another location, according to Axios.
The CDC lab in Atlanta developed the testing formula for the coronavirus and had been manufacturing small amounts of test kits for labs around the country. This is where the problem apparently developed, according to sources.
Neither the CDC nor the Trump administration would publicly comment on what the specific problem was, however, sources familiar with the issue say it had to do with possible contamination of one of the test components.
An HHS official told POLITICO there was an problem with lab test cleanliness that affected the rollout of the coronavirus tests, but added that has been resolved. The official gave no further details.
In a statement, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said: “We worked hand in hand with CDC to resolve the issues with manufacturing. FDA has confidence in the design and current manufacturing of the test that already have and are continuing to be distributed. These tests have passed extensive quality control procedures and will provide the high-level of diagnostic accuracy we need during this coronavirus outbreak.”
HHS confirmed Sunday it had “launched an investigation and is assembling a team of non-CDC scientists to better understand the nature and source of the manufacturing defect in the first batch of COVID-19 test kits that were distributed to state health departments and others,” reports Reuters.
In any case, Trump administration officials have said that by the end of this week, “we will have the capacity to test up to 75,000 individuals” for the coronavirus. But the government’s decision to make its own test kits flys in the face of the ridiculous.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has supplied 57 countries with coronavirus test kits, and South Korea has already tested 65,000 people while the U.S. has managed to test 459 people.
