NPR
As the Trump administration scrambles to make more coronavirus tests available, demand for testing still outstrips availability. More than 71,000 tests have been done so far in the U.S., according to the Covid Tracking Project, and thousands more are being conducted each week by federal and state labs, hospitals and private companies, officials say. The federal government hopes to open 47 drive-through sites in 12 states soon. But there's still not nearly enough testing, experts say. Most other countries with outbreaks have done a great deal more testing. For instance South Korea has tested more than 270,000 people to date. "The testing capacity remains extraordinarily limited compared to where we should be. And in many ways we are absolutely flying blind at the moment," says Michael Mina, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In response to continued critique of the limited testing capacity, the Food and Drug Administration announced Monday night it has taken several new steps, including letting states get their own testing systems going. "States can now take responsibility for overseeing tests developed and used by laboratories in their states," says FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn. New York had requested and received this authorization to expand testing capacity. This new flexibility from the FDA could allow states to take steps such as permitting the use of new unapproved tests or letting labs not previously authorized to begin testing. But some experts fear that step may not help much because most states don't have the legal authority, expertise or staff to set up their own testing systems.