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>2 years in and we aren't producing even Covid tests? It's an error to assume that there are absolutely no COVID tests made in the US simply because the small

>2 years in and we aren't producing even Covid tests? It's an error to assume that there are absolutely no COVID tests made in the US simply because the small handful you received wasn't. For instance, the popular over-the-counter at-home test manufactured by Abbott is made in the US, except for swabs (mix of Thailand and US) due to supply/demand issues. https://www.globalpointofcare.abbott/en/product-details/binaxnow-covid-19-antigen-self-test-us.html https://www.globalpointofcare.abbott/en/product-details/bina...

jacobolus 5y ago
Abbott sells their Binax test in the US for like 5x the price they sell the same test for in Europe, because the FDA was slow to approve other brands of rapid tests and used questionable criteria,† so they had substantial monopoly pricing power while other vendors’ tests were restricted. If the only way US test production can compete is via predatory price gouging, that’s hardly a sign of health. †: The criterion was performance vs. PCR test, even though PCR and antigen tests measure different things, so that the vendors who slipped through the regulation were those who best gamed the test studies, while various other vendors with tests that perform nearly identically in practice failed FDA study criterion. The FDA refused to accept a performance comparison of new antigen tests vs. already approved antigen tests.
hatware 5y ago
> It's an error to assume that there are absolutely no COVID tests made in the US simply because the small handful you received wasn't. It's an error to imply they were making this assumption in the first place. I, too, am baffled that two years into a pandemic, any tests are coming from China. Didn't the whole thing _start_ there?
- bryanrasmussen 5y ago
  Why would one not want to get tests for a disease from the place where the disease started?
  - hatware 5y ago
    It's more what it says about our government's utter incompetence. If we can't solve the problem of distributing masks in an arguably _light_ pandemic, what the hell should we expect when a worse one comes along...? Global supply chain issues have clearly stuck around, and we're relying on another country on another continent to provide something that would classify as an emergency good. You tell me how that makes sense. The downvotes are cute, this is a very legitimate concern though. There's nothing wrong with wondering why China releasing a virus is just an "oopsie."
    - nemothekid 5y ago
      >It's more what it says about our government's utter incompetence. If we can't solve the problem of distributing masks in an arguably _light_ pandemic, what the hell should we expect when a worse one comes along...? It's a tall order to fix 40 to 50 years of global offshoring in a 10 months. If COVID has taught me anything, I believe we are more likely to just grit our teeth and put up with the costs than actually try and fix the issue in the future. Americans will never buy (or could possibly afford) domestically manufactured goods. There is already fervor at increased food prices due to the labor price increases all across the food chain; you want to do the same to cups and plates? It would never be politically successful. >The downvotes are cute, this is a very legitimate concern though. There's nothing wrong with wondering why China releasing a virus is just an "oopsie." Because it's not a productive conversation. 1) Whether it's an "oopsie" or not, Americans were still unprepared. 2) If it's not an oopsie, what are you going to do? Invade China on a hunch? 3) Given the history of respiratory diseases in China (e.g. SARS), and the growth of China in the global economy, isn't it more likely that is SARS 2 ever occurred it would be global in nature? This isn't the first time China has had to deal with a respiratory virus.
      - hatware 5y ago
        > fix 40 to 50 years of global offshoring in a 10 months That's... not what I asked for. We're talking respiratory cloth masks here, not the global economy. Our discussion will be more productive if you don't put words in my mouth. You're really trying to ignore the obvious red flags. Respiratory masks for US consumption being made in China is not a result of globalization. It's just corporate greed hiding behind virtue signals.

jacobolus 5y ago

Abbott sells their Binax test in the US for like 5x the price they sell the same test for in Europe, because the FDA was slow to approve other brands of rapid tests and used questionable criteria,† so they had substantial monopoly pricing power while other vendors’ tests were restricted. If the only way US test production can compete is via predatory price gouging, that’s hardly a sign of health. †: The criterion was performance vs. PCR test, even though PCR and antigen tests measure different things, so that the vendors who slipped through the regulation were those who best gamed the test studies, while various other vendors with tests that perform nearly identically in practice failed FDA study criterion. The FDA refused to accept a performance comparison of new antigen tests vs. already approved antigen tests.

hatware 5y ago

> It's an error to assume that there are absolutely no COVID tests made in the US simply because the small handful you received wasn't. It's an error to imply they were making this assumption in the first place. I, too, am baffled that two years into a pandemic, any tests are coming from China. Didn't the whole thing _start_ there?

bryanrasmussen 5y ago
Why would one not want to get tests for a disease from the place where the disease started?
- hatware 5y ago
  It's more what it says about our government's utter incompetence. If we can't solve the problem of distributing masks in an arguably _light_ pandemic, what the hell should we expect when a worse one comes along...? Global supply chain issues have clearly stuck around, and we're relying on another country on another continent to provide something that would classify as an emergency good. You tell me how that makes sense. The downvotes are cute, this is a very legitimate concern though. There's nothing wrong with wondering why China releasing a virus is just an "oopsie."
  - nemothekid 5y ago
    >It's more what it says about our government's utter incompetence. If we can't solve the problem of distributing masks in an arguably _light_ pandemic, what the hell should we expect when a worse one comes along...? It's a tall order to fix 40 to 50 years of global offshoring in a 10 months. If COVID has taught me anything, I believe we are more likely to just grit our teeth and put up with the costs than actually try and fix the issue in the future. Americans will never buy (or could possibly afford) domestically manufactured goods. There is already fervor at increased food prices due to the labor price increases all across the food chain; you want to do the same to cups and plates? It would never be politically successful. >The downvotes are cute, this is a very legitimate concern though. There's nothing wrong with wondering why China releasing a virus is just an "oopsie." Because it's not a productive conversation. 1) Whether it's an "oopsie" or not, Americans were still unprepared. 2) If it's not an oopsie, what are you going to do? Invade China on a hunch? 3) Given the history of respiratory diseases in China (e.g. SARS), and the growth of China in the global economy, isn't it more likely that is SARS 2 ever occurred it would be global in nature? This isn't the first time China has had to deal with a respiratory virus.
    - hatware 5y ago
      > fix 40 to 50 years of global offshoring in a 10 months That's... not what I asked for. We're talking respiratory cloth masks here, not the global economy. Our discussion will be more productive if you don't put words in my mouth. You're really trying to ignore the obvious red flags. Respiratory masks for US consumption being made in China is not a result of globalization. It's just corporate greed hiding behind virtue signals.