Other Views: Public access to accurate and reliable testing

Jeff Shuren, M. D., J. D., director, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration:

“When the science supports the test, the FDA has and will authorize them. The FDA has issued emergency use authorization for nine over- the- counter tests, including three that were authorized within one week. We are focused on ensuring the American public has access to appropriately accurate and reliable COVID- 19 tests. Using inaccurate or poor performing tests endangers lives and thwarts our ability to stop the spread of the disease. Failing to accurately identify people likely to spread COVID- 19 does not best serve the American public and will continue to harm those most susceptible to this devastating virus.”

Lancaster ( Pennsylvania) Online, Editorial Board:

“The Biden administration should have foreseen this need and ensured there was no drop- off in production or availability of rapid testing kits, which is exactly what happened over the summer. State governments, too, could have used some of the millions in federal COVID- 19 relief funds they’re sitting on to proactively order rapid testing kits, and thus they share some of the blame. But this problem starts at the top. ... This should have been a priority ongoing aspect of the government’s response the moment reliable rapid testing kits became available last year. We read about their successful deployment for professional sports leagues and Hollywood productions. Essentially, those with money have had the most access to these tests. That has come at the expense of families.”

Michael J. Mina and Steven Phillips, The New York Times:

“The White House should also treat rapid testing with the same urgency and private sector partnership approach that Operation Warp Speed pioneered for vaccines. ... The U. S. government should provide rapid tests to every American household, business and organization for free to complement the vaccination campaign and make abiding by the vaccine mandate more feasible. ... Economic analyses predicted that a major government- funded rapid testing program that reached every American could add as much as $ 50 billion to the gross domestic product and save tens of thousands of lives or more.”