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Rather than just blaming the CDC, I think the real problem here has been the lack of coordination between the CDC and FDA? CDC: Our test is going to be so muc

Rather than just blaming the CDC, I think the real problem here has been the lack of coordination between the CDC and FDA? CDC: Our test is going to be so much better than the WHO's, we'll test for SARS-CoV-2 in two samples and also test for other simultaneous infections in this third part! FDA: Approved Hospitals: Hey, we can't get that third part to work! CDC: That's ok, just use the first two parts, that's all you really need to diagnose COVID-19. Though I'm sad I won't get any data on simultaneous infections, apparently that was a problem in Northeast China and we want to figure that out for our guidelines. FDA: Only running the first two tests is not what we approved! Verboten! * Laboratory: Let's develop our own SARS-CoV-2 test! FDA: Sure, just make sure to fill out these forms, be sure to send them to us by mail rather than email, and oh, make sure to test against the original SARS to make sure your test doesn't give a false SARS-CoV-2 reading if they patient just has that. Laboratory: Uh, sure. Hey, CDC, can I have a sample of SARS to test against? CDC: NO WHAT ARE YOU CRAZY I'M NOT GIVING YOU THAT! THAT'S SUPER DEADLY!

ejstronge 7y ago
> FDA: Sure, just make sure to fill out these forms, be sure to send them to us by mail rather than email, and oh, make sure to test against the original SARS to make sure your test doesn't give a false SARS-CoV-19 reading if they patient just has that. > Laboratory: Uh, sure. Hey, CDC, can I have a sample of SARS to test against? I've been trying to stay on top of the testing saga, but it's been hard with all the daily changes. Do you have news links that describe this hypothetical exchange taking place? EDIT: in particular, the part around the FDA requiring testing against a sample of SARS.
- Symmetry 7y ago
  From here: >The officials at the FDA instructed him to test his test against the MERS and SARS viruses, which are also coronaviruses. It wasn’t a terrible idea, Greninger thought. Why not develop a test that catches all these deadly coronaviruses all at once? It did seem strange, however, that the FDA was asking for this in an emergency use application: by this point, COVID-19 cases had appeared in six states. (The FDA did not respond to a list of questions about the process.) >Still, Greninger complied. He called the CDC to inquire about getting some genetic material from a sample of SARS. The CDC, Greninger says, politely turned him down: the genetic material of the extremely contagious and deadly SARS virus was highly restricted. https://www.gq.com/story/inside-americas-coronavirus-testing-crisis https://www.gq.com/story/inside-americas-coronavirus-testing...
Congeec 7y ago
It's called SARS-Cov-2, not -19
- Symmetry 7y ago
  Argh, thanks, corrected.
js2 7y ago
> lack of coordination between the CDC and FDA? Exactly why it matters that there was no one in the Whitehouse whose job it was to coordinate the Coronavirus response. Our current situation was predictable. This was written in 2018: Around the same time that the administration proposed rescinding the funds, the National Security Council dissolved its biosecurity directorate, a small team focused exclusively on global health security threats and led by a director often referred to as the Ebola czar. Again, it’s worth remembering why that office came into existence — a hard lesson. Without a central office to coordinate federal efforts by many agencies, progress was slow the last time the world confronted Ebola. “It took months of wrangling to put things in place,” Mr. Konyndyk said. “If the only way to get resources is through long negotiations with committees, you are giving disease a head start.” It was based on that realization that the Obama administration established the biosecurity directorate and named the first Ebola coordinator. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/22/opinion/ebola-outbreak-trump.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/22/opinion/ebola-outbreak-tr...

ejstronge 7y ago

> FDA: Sure, just make sure to fill out these forms, be sure to send them to us by mail rather than email, and oh, make sure to test against the original SARS to make sure your test doesn't give a false SARS-CoV-19 reading if they patient just has that. > Laboratory: Uh, sure. Hey, CDC, can I have a sample of SARS to test against? I've been trying to stay on top of the testing saga, but it's been hard with all the daily changes. Do you have news links that describe this hypothetical exchange taking place? EDIT: in particular, the part around the FDA requiring testing against a sample of SARS.

Symmetry 7y ago
From here: >The officials at the FDA instructed him to test his test against the MERS and SARS viruses, which are also coronaviruses. It wasn’t a terrible idea, Greninger thought. Why not develop a test that catches all these deadly coronaviruses all at once? It did seem strange, however, that the FDA was asking for this in an emergency use application: by this point, COVID-19 cases had appeared in six states. (The FDA did not respond to a list of questions about the process.) >Still, Greninger complied. He called the CDC to inquire about getting some genetic material from a sample of SARS. The CDC, Greninger says, politely turned him down: the genetic material of the extremely contagious and deadly SARS virus was highly restricted. https://www.gq.com/story/inside-americas-coronavirus-testing-crisis https://www.gq.com/story/inside-americas-coronavirus-testing...

Congeec 7y ago

It's called SARS-Cov-2, not -19

Symmetry 7y ago
Argh, thanks, corrected.

js2 7y ago

> lack of coordination between the CDC and FDA? Exactly why it matters that there was no one in the Whitehouse whose job it was to coordinate the Coronavirus response. Our current situation was predictable. This was written in 2018: Around the same time that the administration proposed rescinding the funds, the National Security Council dissolved its biosecurity directorate, a small team focused exclusively on global health security threats and led by a director often referred to as the Ebola czar. Again, it’s worth remembering why that office came into existence — a hard lesson. Without a central office to coordinate federal efforts by many agencies, progress was slow the last time the world confronted Ebola. “It took months of wrangling to put things in place,” Mr. Konyndyk said. “If the only way to get resources is through long negotiations with committees, you are giving disease a head start.” It was based on that realization that the Obama administration established the biosecurity directorate and named the first Ebola coordinator. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/22/opinion/ebola-outbreak-trump.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/22/opinion/ebola-outbreak-tr...