Since the major outbreak of coronavirus, countries such as Korea, Italy, Spain, France, Thailand and Japan are conducting many more tests for Covid-19 on their patients who are potentially infected than the US at this juncture. This begs the question of why the United States was so late in the game and still are only able to conduct an unacceptable number of tests.
While some politicians and celebrity physicians are brushing off the past, doctors are furious that they are only able to test patients according to the Center for Disease Control's guidelines. According to the CDC, there are three qualifications for a patient to be allowed to be tested; Patients are only able to be tested if they have a severe temperature (most say 104 degrees) and difficulty breathing, if they have been in contact with someone who has tested positive for novel coronavirus or returned from either China or Italy, not other highly infected areas like Paris or even infected cities within the US. This leaves many potential infected persons, especially people who are feeling ill and have returned from infected areas in limbo. Read the thread bellow to see one person's difficulty with receiving a test a well as their physicians response.
Click to see the rest of @JSODonoghue thread and updates.
Now the question as to why the CDC has such strict guidelines, why hospitals and physician offices are so ill prepared and were even uneducated on procedures for patients who may be carrying the virus. Firstly we know that the CDC originally sent out faulty tests to testing facilities through out the US, to areas that were in need of testing kits. This resulted in false positives and negatives as well more days that passed that Americans and physicians were left waiting.
"Was the CDC attempting to cut costs?"
Secondly, the CDC refused to use the already circulating tests that were provided by WHO, the World Health Organization. Instead the CDC insisted on creating their own tests, which halted hospitals from being able to test at all for coronavirus in the early stages and even today. Still, there is a lag on testing, patients are told to just self quarantine and only seek help when their symptoms become life threatening. Why did the CDC insist on creating their own testing kits? Why didn’t they simply purchase the ones that were provided by WHO? Was the CDC attempting to cut costs?
These questions are more than viable, they’re vital. Americans deserve an answer as to why we were treated casually callous. President Trump attempted to abate worry in Tuesday’s White House briefing after being questioned if he was tested, he stated: "I don't think it's a big deal. I would do it. I don't feel that any reason. I feel extremely good. I feel very good”. While the Americans who do need to be tested, feel sick and have been in hot zones, await testing.
Currently Bill and Malinda Gates and their foundation along with Mark Zuckerberg and a pack of Silicon Valley philanthropists are attempting to create an ‘at-home’ testing kit. Because of ill-testing and lack of, we don’t have a clue as to how many Americans may be infected, which is a scary idea for those who are on the ‘need to worry’ level. Still, the CDC is telling Americans that the ones who should be most concerned are those who have preexisting illnesses, especially respiratory and the elderly; those over 60, especially those over 70.
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