Why is the US so behind in testing?

[skarra]

I don't get why the richest country in the world is at #42 on the tests/1M population chart (Coronavirus Update (Live): 2,628,469 Cases and 183,491 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/)). It is still very difficult to get a test weeks after we were promised they were available to everyone.

If we don't know where we stand re infections (the hidden threat), how can we make a sane decision that it's safe to go back to business as usual?

Hope is not a strategy. I've no confidence in what they're telling me - it is NOT safe to go back to "normal" until we get more testing done.

[karostay]

Your source is ?

[Chatbrat]

Testing is only a snap shot in time--you could be negative one day & positive 24 hours latter--the only thing that matters is a cure or better yet a vaccine--

[GoodLife]

I don't get why the richest country in the world is at #42 on the tests/1M population chart (Coronavirus Update (Live): 2,628,469 Cases and 183,491 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/)). It is still very difficult to get a test weeks after we were promised they were available to everyone.

If we don't know where we stand re infections (the hidden threat), how can we make a sane decision that it's safe to go back to business as usual?

Hope is not a strategy. I've no confidence in what they're telling me - it is NOT safe to go back to "normal" until we get more testing done.

Ask Dr Fauci

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-non-villages-discussion-93/coronavirus-tests-were-delayed-contamination-cdc-lab-report-says-305516/

[vintageogauge]

There is an excess of tests available in Orange county, some of the drive-in test sites have an excess of 200+ per day not being used. One of the problems is the ID requirement holding back illegals as stated on ABC news Orlando.

[skyking]

Population of Italy, Spain, France, UK and Germany = 320 million. COVID 19 Deaths 86,446

Population of US = 328 million Covid 19 Deaths 42,012

April 20 at 4:10 pm

Calm down.

[blueash]

Ask Dr Fauci

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-non-villages-discussion-93/coronavirus-tests-were-delayed-contamination-cdc-lab-report-says-305516/

I clicked on your link. I don't see Dr. Fauci mentioned. Why do you think the problems at the CDC had anything to do with Dr. Fauci who you seem to blame for the testing fiasco. Dr Fauci does not work for the CDC, he has never worked for the CDC, and I think you know that but you want him smear him with someone else's mistakes.

[npwalters]

I don't get why the richest country in the world is at #42 on the tests/1M population chart (Coronavirus Update (Live): 2,628,469 Cases and 183,491 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/)). It is still very difficult to get a test weeks after we were promised they were available to everyone.

If we don't know where we stand re infections (the hidden threat), how can we make a sane decision that it's safe to go back to business as usual?

Hope is not a strategy. I've no confidence in what they're telling me - it is NOT safe to go back to "normal" until we get more testing done.

Your interpretation of the data is wrong. You are not using tests per million as a standard.

[Chi-Town]

I don't get why the richest country in the world is at #42 on the tests/1M population chart (Coronavirus Update (Live): 2,628,469 Cases and 183,491 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/)). It is still very difficult to get a test weeks after we were promised they were available to everyone.

If we don't know where we stand re infections (the hidden threat), how can we make a sane decision that it's safe to go back to business as usual?

Hope is not a strategy. I've no confidence in what they're telling me - it is NOT safe to go back to "normal" until we get more testing done.

Same question Governors and Mayors are asking. The lack of tests is a black eye.

[Topspinmo]

I don't get why the richest country in the world is at #42 on the tests/1M population chart (Coronavirus Update (Live): 2,628,469 Cases and 183,491 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/)). It is still very difficult to get a test weeks after we were promised they were available to everyone.

If we don't know where we stand re infections (the hidden threat), how can we make a sane decision that it's safe to go back to business as usual?

Hope is not a strategy. I've no confidence in what they're telling me - it is NOT safe to go back to "normal" until we get more testing done.

Let’s see, new virus and 350 million plus people. they are testing the hot spots, our area not considered hot spot

[Annie66]

Your source is ?

Check the hyperlink in the OP. Organize the chart by the last column.

[David Fletcher]

The original post states America is richest country in the world. If ever a statement was wrong.

Perhaps the problem is summed up with that statement.

If Americans believe that, then I guess they believe anything.

[Tom2172]

We are not behind in testing! We are ahead in FakeNewsMedia

Simple corona home test
Light a match
Can you smell it ? You don’t have corona
Taste & smell are lost with corona virus

[alfredpopcorn@gmail.com]

This is what happens when seniors are Lock up to for to long .
Relax everything is going fine - seniors are receiving SS - pensions etc . Concern should be given to the working population and there future survival. Which is what the powers to be are doing while some us stay luck up and complain.

[Transplant]

There are plenty of tests. Are you showing symptoms? Call your doctor. Don't wait for a testing site to show within the Villages.

[martynpat]

you speak nonsense

[ficoguy]

Because you have too many government agencies. Obama Care had prohibited private companies from selling test kits for general public - Trump hand to executive order that one away. The CDC, who we pay taxes for and support, contaminated their test kits. Medicare would not pay - that had to be changed. And 8 agencies need to approve the final test kits. So red tape, bungling, regulations that no one knew were on the books...its not like Germany where Merkel says line up and everyone says "Jawohl!"

[TNLAKEPANDA]

When you eat some of these post on here you realize how many stupid people there are in TV.

[Bikeracer2009]

From what I've heard in watching the daily briefings from the Governors and the President is the US has done more testing than all other countries combined. The government has been assisting local governments in acquiring ventilators and testing machines eventhough it's a local government's responsibility to do these things.

It's been stated that testing non symptomatic people is not an option for the entire population of America because you could test negative and go to the store and get infected 5 minutes later. Performing 350 million test is not a feasible solution.

If you have symptoms then get tested.

As far as most cases in the world is concerned, the more test you conduct the more you find. Other countries have way more cases than what they report because they aren't doing as many test.

Also, The US had hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists flocking to America during the initial period of the pandemic before the border was closed to China. Over 430,000 Chinese travelers came to America the final two weeks before the travel ban was placed. Then they flew in from other countries until that was stopped.

Not all deaths are reported the same way. In America we report ever covid 19 patient death as related to the virus. Strokes, heart attacks etc are counted with our deaths from the virus. Other countries have different guidelines. Some poor countries will have hundreds of thousands of deaths but no testing so their death counts will be lower.

This information is out there.

[Mike193534]

The original post states America is richest country in the world. If ever a statement was wrong.

Perhaps the problem is summed up with that statement.

If Americans believe that, then I guess they believe anything.

Ranked: The Richest Countries in the World (https://www.visualcapitalist.com/richest-countries-in-world/)

[toeser]

I don't get why the richest country in the world is at #42 on the tests/1M population chart (Coronavirus Update (Live): 2,628,469 Cases and 183,491 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/)). It is still very difficult to get a test weeks after we were promised they were available to everyone.

If we don't know where we stand re infections (the hidden threat), how can we make a sane decision that it's safe to go back to business as usual?

Hope is not a strategy. I've no confidence in what they're telling me - it is NOT safe to go back to "normal" until we get more testing done.

We are behind because of ridiculous bureaucratic rules by the FDA/CDC that mandated that tests must be developed by the CDC, plus the FDA would not approve foreign tests. In trying to develop a test, the CDC completely blew it in that their test did not work.

Finally, Trump directed the FDA and CDC to embrace the private sector and allow them into test development, but precious time had been lost. Many tests have now been developed, it's now about filling the supply chain.

Don't get too comfortable with testing being the solution, it isn't. We will never, ever test and retest all 330 million Americans. It just isn't practical or possible, so there will be some virus around for a long, long time.

[Jdunn]

I don't get why the richest country in the world is at #42 on the tests/1M population chart (Coronavirus Update (Live): 2,628,469 Cases and 183,491 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/)). It is still very difficult to get a test weeks after we were promised they were available to everyone.

If we don't know where we stand re infections (the hidden threat), how can we make a sane decision that it's safe to go back to business as usual?

Hope is not a strategy. I've no confidence in what they're telling me - it is NOT safe to go back to "normal" until we get more testing done.
So sick of people with false information

[Bwolf1]

I don't get why the richest country in the world is at #42 on the tests/1M population chart (Coronavirus Update (Live): 2,628,469 Cases and 183,491 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/)). It is still very difficult to get a test weeks after we were promised they were available to everyone.

If we don't know where we stand re infections (the hidden threat), how can we make a sane decision that it's safe to go back to business as usual?

Hope is not a strategy. I've no confidence in what they're telling me - it is NOT safe to go back to "normal" until we get more testing done.
I was tested at the Polo Field in The Villages. It was simple, quick, efficient and free. No problem getting it done, I signed up on line and the next day was tested. It took 5 minutes total. I drove in at 10:15 and was finished at 10:20. Results were emailed in 24 hours. I was not infected with the virus, my cough is from allergies.

[La lamy]

We are behind because of ridiculous bureaucratic rules by the FDA/CDC that mandated that tests must be developed by the CDC, plus the FDA would not approve foreign tests. In trying to develop a test, the CDC completely blew it in that their test did not work.

Finally, Trump directed the FDA and CDC to embrace the private sector and allow them into test development, but precious time had been lost. Many tests have now been developed, it's now about filling the supply chain.

Don't get too comfortable with testing being the solution, it isn't. We will never, ever test and retest all 330 million Americans. It just isn't practical or possible, so there will be some virus around for a long, long time.

Agreed. The blood test to detect antibodies to COVID is what I really want. I feel I've had the virus, with a mild version of most of the symptoms. It would ease my mind to know I was able to fight it.

[mikemalloy]

Just a few observations I've made from reading articles. As written previously, the original testing was to be done by kits provided by the CDC. They were somewhat more complicated that other tests used worldwide and as previously noted, the CDC had contaminated part of the test resulting in false positives. Unfortunately this happened at a critical time when it was hope to contain the beginning infections. When private labs tried to jump in and do testing they were caught in a red tape maze that included proposals having to be submitted to the FDA by snail mail rather than email.
On thing that hasn't been mentioned is that the original tests had to be done by a health care worker taking a swab from the back of the nasal cavity. After doing the swabbing the worker than had to change the PPE that the worker was using so as to not infect the next person tested. It was time consuming and we has some shortages in PPE in the beginning. Testing at that point was limited to health care workers and those showing symptoms. Results weren't obtained like a home pregnancy test where you just dip a strip. The sample had to be transported to a lab and then individually tested. Doing large number of tests with these limitations is very difficult. Newer tests that allow an individual to self-sample and kits that give results in 15 minutes will greatly increase our capacity. So the initial problems were failures by our "medical experts" and government regulations. It appears that our current capacity is quickly increasing due to medical innovations and effective oversight.

[Tennisbum]

Testing is only a snap shot in time--you could be negative one day & positive 24 hours latter--the only thing that matters is a cure or better yet a vaccine--

What he said!!!! I feel fine, no contacts with known carriers, why get tested? Save it for the people who need it!

[ficoguy]

If you do more IQ testing, are you going to find any more geniuses or idiots? No. The bell curve tells it all - its called normal distribution. You do a reliable sample and then calculate your confidence factor via the coefficient of correlation. So you don;t need to test very person, dog, horse or cat to know which way things are headed. People feel like they are entitle to having a 3 inch swab stuck up their nose.

[Luvs21putt]

The number you are looking at is per million people. We have a LOT more people to test and they are cranking out tests as fast as they can but are limited by manufacturing supplies and lab technicians.

[Meloveday]

Remember who's driving the bus.

[Daxdog]

Lots of reasons for not testing, one reason could be you not need a test unless you are feeling ill, Second is people, can’t test you if there aren’t enough people that do the testing, can’t force them. And maybe like the Other person said what’s the point, you can test one minute, and be infected the next. Don’t worry we will get thru this. Hey here is something else worry about, people wearing masks wrong, not covering nose (dumb) and people wearing gloves. Do you know if you wear gloves you cross contaminate everything you touch. That means if you touch something at a store and then touch something else you just moved germs from one item to another.
Have a good day everyone

[JulieER]

This is what happens when seniors are Lock up to for to long .
Relax everything is going fine - seniors are receiving SS - pensions etc . Concern should be given to the working population and there future survival. Which is what the powers to be are doing while some us stay luck up and complain.

So what happens to SS when people aren’t working and we lose the contributions normally made? We will run out way sooner than projected. What happens to our funded pensions when companies can’t sell their products and funding falls shorter and shorter? A certain percentage of our pensions are guaranteed by the “bank” but what happens when they don’t have the money for us? This recession is going to be worse than anything we’ve ever had. Farmers already are plowing under their fields since no one to sell their crops to with restaurants and schools closed. Immigration halted so Americans can go in the fields and pick tomatoes and beans for minimum wage - like they will even apply for the jobs! Meat and poultry processing plants shutting down across the nation because the working conditions are so poor, the virus knocked them all under. This all HAS to affect our food supply eventually. I thought I would be OK with SS and pension but now I’m not so sure...

[jmpalladino]

Your source is ?

It cited within the post!

[LiverpoolWalrus]

We are not behind in testing! We are ahead in FakeNewsMedia

Simple corona home test
Light a match
Can you smell it ? You don’t have corona
Taste & smell are lost with corona virus

OK, but what if you're infected but asymptomatic? I agree with you about the prevalence of fake news, but when information is posted about how you can do a "home test" to see if you have the virus and it is not necessarily true, I'd like to ask you if that falls into the same category.

I'm far from the "sky is falling" type, but I do know that people will behave differently if they know they are positive for the virus. At least many will.

[Jazzman]

I don't get why the richest country in the world is at #42 on the tests/1M population chart (Coronavirus Update (Live): 2,628,469 Cases and 183,491 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/)). It is still very difficult to get a test weeks after we were promised they were available to everyone.

If we don't know where we stand re infections (the hidden threat), how can we make a sane decision that it's safe to go back to business as usual?

Hope is not a strategy. I've no confidence in what they're telling me - it is NOT safe to go back to "normal" until we get more testing done.

The initial issue rested solely in the lap of the CDC. Historically, they work to develop tests and vaccines for various influenza types. That’s how the federal government has always handled, forever. In early February they developed and manufactured the tests and distributed only to revive feedback that there were flawed results. If those initial tests distributed provided results as designed than major private labs could produce the tests as well to meet demand. It wasn’t until the identification of the flawed results that a decision was made to allow the private sector e.g., diagnostic companies to develop and manufacture tests. Unfortunately this does not happen overnight yet the FDA did a great job in ramping up the approval process. Having worked in the medical device and diagnostic business for quite a long time I can tell you that the FDA had many requirements for the submission of tests whether antigen or antibody that did not have anything to do with the safety of the test or it’s efficacy specific to results. Moving forward hopefully the FDA will review all of its procedures to reduce the approval times without safety or efficacy being compromised

[sloanst]

I don't get why the richest country in the world is at #42 on the tests/1M population chart (Coronavirus Update (Live): 2,628,469 Cases and 183,491 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/)). It is still very difficult to get a test weeks after we were promised they were available to everyone.

If we don't know where we stand re infections (the hidden threat), how can we make a sane decision that it's safe to go back to business as usual?

Hope is not a strategy. I've no confidence in what they're telling me - it is NOT safe to go back to "normal" until we get more testing done.
Because we allowed China to be the producer of our goods and we are now paying the price for that horrible decision. It took only about 30 years to gut our manufacturing. We should reverse this trend as soon as possible. Design here, develop here, create here, hire here, process here and build here. No other country should have the ability to hold us hostage for goods we could've made ourselves.

[Daddymac]

Total COVID-19 tests per 1,000 people - Our World in Data (https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/full-list-cumulative-total-tests-per-thousand?year=2020-04-22&time=2020-03-17)..
:pray: :pray: :pray:

[mikemalloy]

Google Politifact.....
Feb 28, 2020 · Says of President Donald Trump's actions on the coronavirus:
No. 1, he fired the pandemic team two years ago.
No. 2, he's been defunding the Centers for Disease Control.”.
Add to that the fact that up until now we were dependent on China to supply the testing reagent. We are scrambling to get it manufactured here.
All 50 states have the same shortage.
From what I've read the "team" was merged with another part of the NSA. With the merger top administrators were no longer needed. (My question is why didn't the wizz-bang pandemic team not replenish our ventilator supply after it was depleted after the last flu outbreak?) As to CDC funding that is completely untrue. While Trump's proposed budget has less funding for the CDC the budget as adopted by Congress had no cuts. But hey, believe what YOU want to.

[davem4616]

we all know what the symptoms for this virus are

unless you have those symptoms you don't have the virus

a test is only measuring in the present...the next hour after you take the test you could be exposed to the virus...

so if you do not have any symptoms please relax and stay safe

now if you absolutely must take a test....come on over to my house and teach me how to use all the features in my new smart phone

[Heyitsrick]

Google Politifact.....
Feb 28, 2020 · Says of President Donald Trump's actions on the coronavirus:
No. 1, he fired the pandemic team two years ago.
No. 2, he's been defunding the Centers for Disease Control.”.
Add to that the fact that up until now we were dependent on China to supply the testing reagent. We are scrambling to get it manufactured here.
All 50 states have the same shortage.

Did the Trump administration "fire" the pandemic team? How about asking the former senior director for counterproliferation and biodefense on the National Security Council, Tim Morrison. He wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post that totally debunks this.

"It has been alleged by multiple officials of the Obama administration, including in The Washington Post, that the president and his then-national security adviser, John Bolton, “dissolved the office” at the White House in charge of pandemic preparedness. Because I (Tim Morrison) led the very directorate assigned that mission, the counterproliferation and biodefense office, for a year and then handed it off to another official who still holds the post, I know the charge is specious."

No, the White House Didn’t ‘Dissolve’ Its Pandemic Response Office | RealClearPolitics (https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/03/17/no_the_white_house_didnt_dissolve_its_pandemic_res ponse_office_142683.html)

[OhioBuckeye]

I don't get why the richest country in the world is at #42 on the tests/1M population chart (Coronavirus Update (Live): 2,628,469 Cases and 183,491 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/)). It is still very difficult to get a test weeks after we were promised they were available to everyone.

If we don't know where we stand re infections (the hidden threat), how can we make a sane decision that it's safe to go back to business as usual?

Hope is not a strategy. I've no confidence in what they're telling me - it is NOT safe to go back to "normal" until we get more testing done.
I here what you’re saying but I really think the govt. would like us to wait another month but there’s to many impatient people out there that want go back to work & rightly so. If to many businesses open back up you’ll see people with Covid-19 working right along side of someone that doesn’t & then here we go again, it’ll start all over again! Also I PERSONALLY think you’re wrong about the U.S. being one of the slowest in developing a vaccine. If your watching the news (any news) they’re saying it’ll be at least a yr. before they find a vaccine. Other countries haven’t even mentioned about having a vaccine, unless you believe China. I’m staying home as much as I can, other people can do what they want, it’s their life!

[ficoguy]

I don't get why the richest country in the world is at #42 on the tests/1M population chart (Coronavirus Update (Live): 2,628,469 Cases and 183,491 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/)). It is still very difficult to get a test weeks after we were promised they were available to everyone.

If we don't know where we stand re infections (the hidden threat), how can we make a sane decision that it's safe to go back to business as usual?

Hope is not a strategy. I've no confidence in what they're telling me - it is NOT safe to go back to "normal" until we get more testing done.
If we needed 100 million test kits for The Clap, do we have them? Nooooooo.....

[ficoguy]

If we needed 100 million test kits for The Clap, do we have them? Nooooooo.....
We are not the richest per capita.

[LiverpoolWalrus]

we all know what the symptoms for this virus are

unless you have those symptoms you don't have the virus



That is just not true in all cases. It seems that people with symptoms are more contagious, yes, but the virus can be spread by asymptomatic people, too. This is all over cable news, the internet, radio news/talk shows, newspapers, magazines. And at least two people on this thread alone appear to be unaware of this.

The Silent Spreaders Of COVID-19: Asymptomatic, Presymptomatic, Mildly Symptomatic Cases : Goats and Soda : NPR (https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/04/13/831883560/can-a-coronavirus-patient-who-isnt-showing-symptoms-infect-others)

[ficoguy]

Do we have 100 million test kits if people somehow decided we all needed a test for venereal disease? I highly doubt we have 100 million of any kinds of tests - these kits deteriorate if not used over time. I'm not talking about cotton swabs - I'm talking about the chemicals and reagents that are used to process the swab. Its ridiculous to assume we can get tested anytime, anywhere for anything. There is a ramp up period. Oh, and someone has to pay for these too...

[Joelack99]

We are behind in testing because our administration failed to plan properly for a pandemic. It was obvious that one would come eventually. There was a Pandemic planning commission, dissolved by the administration who didn’t read the science. CDC made a mistake with their test. This happens. But there was no one in the administration with a Plan B, a requirement for all critical planning elements.

They could have recovered. WHO made their test available. We didn’t ask for it. Other countries had tests we could have used. We didn’t ask.

Instead, we chose to go private, perhaps so certain companies could take a windfall? (This is unproven but provides a possible motive.)

Anyway, we didn’t plan to succeed, so we failed at the #1 task in an epidemic. We had poor leadership at the federal level. That’s the bottom line.

It did not have to be this way. And people have died and many more will die because of it.

[cemlopez]

I don't get why the richest country in the world is at #42 on the tests/1M population chart (Coronavirus Update (Live): 2,628,469 Cases and 183,491 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/)). It is still very difficult to get a test weeks after we were promised they were available to everyone.

If we don't know where we stand re infections (the hidden threat), how can we make a sane decision that it's safe to go back to business as usual?

Hope is not a strategy. I've no confidence in what they're telling me - it is NOT safe to go back to "normal" until we get more testing done.
What? We have tested more people than the rest of the World combine.
Maybe a good question is why the previous federal and local administrations were so ill prepare to handle a situation like the one we find ourselves in.

[dplars]

Also, its the States responsibility, some are on the ball some are not, in addition compare the geographical size of what you are comparing. to. I'm vulnerable, no symptoms no need to test

[ficoguy]

Testing is only a snap shot in time--you could be negative one day & positive 24 hours latter--the only thing that matters is a cure or better yet a vaccine--
Assuming the test is accurate - which it is only 88% of the time

[JimJohnson]

I don't get why the richest country in the world is at #42 on the tests/1M population chart (Coronavirus Update (Live): 2,628,469 Cases and 183,491 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/)). It is still very difficult to get a test weeks after we were promised they were available to everyone.

If we don't know where we stand re infections (the hidden threat), how can we make a sane decision that it's safe to go back to business as usual?

Hope is not a strategy. I've no confidence in what they're telling me - it is NOT safe to go back to "normal" until we get more testing done.

This pandemic was set in motion 3 years ago.

[nancymiller217@yahoo.com]

Let’s see, new virus and 350 million plus people. they are testing the hot spots, our area not considered hot spot

Not to mention the Chinese delayed getting us a virus sample, they had to create the tests from scratch because it’s a new virus, had to get equipment to run the tests

AND we have everything in the country shut down at a time when we suddenly need to manufacture 350 million plus swabs, test tubes, reagents, and test machines. Even now they are saying they will only be able to manufacture 20 million or so swabs a month.

So absent, a magic wand to magically create tests, I don’t know where people thought they were going to come from.

[blueash]

If we needed 100 million test kits for The Clap, do we have them? Nooooooo.....
Do we have 100 million test kits if people somehow decided we all needed a test for venereal disease? I highly doubt we have 100 million of any kinds of tests - these kits deteriorate if not used over time. I'm not talking about cotton swabs - I'm talking about the chemicals and reagents that are used to process the swab. Its ridiculous to assume we can get tested anytime, anywhere for anything. There is a ramp up period. Oh, and someone has to pay for these too...

Do you want to prove that we don't have enough COVID kits because we don't have enough STD tests, proving we don't have enough to test for anything to the mystical 100 million.

Sorry, you're wrong. This country would have no problem doing 100 million tests for gonorrhea. All you need in a pinch is a microscope and a stain. I'm not sure why you picked an STD as your benchmark as there are thousands less available tests.

[JimJohnson]

What? We have tested more people than the rest of the World combine.
Maybe a good question is why the previous federal and local administrations were so ill prepare to handle a situation like the one we find ourselves in.

Great programs were put in place but cancelled under the current administration.

[mvbird]

Exactly what I was going to say. People should only be tested if they have symptoms, and then it is to be treated or quarantined. It is a waste of time and money to test everyone. You could have a positive test today, feel happy, go shopping and pick up the virus. The test just measures you at that point in time.

[ficoguy]

The original post states America is richest country in the world. If ever a statement was wrong.

Perhaps the problem is summed up with that statement.

If Americans believe that, then I guess they believe anything.
We are not the richest per capita. That's how wealth is measured

[kathy1516]

False security. Unless you’ve never stopped at a grocery store, picked up a prescription, came in contact with no other human beings or touched anything other than in your own house after disinfecting everything each time you leave your garage than no, you are still apt to be able to contract the virus! False security!

[BevSparks]

I don't get why the richest country in the world is at #42 on the tests/1M population chart (Coronavirus Update (Live): 2,628,469 Cases and 183,491 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/)). It is still very difficult to get a test weeks after we were promised they were available to everyone.

If we don't know where we stand re infections (the hidden threat), how can we make a sane decision that it's safe to go back to business as usual?


Hope is not a strategy. I've no confidence in what they're telling me - it is NOT safe to go back to "normal" until we get more testing done.

If you've remained in quarantine for at 2/3 weeks, then you don't need to be tested for the virus. Later we will have antibody tests available to determine who has had the virus and who needs to self-protect later in the year if the virus returns.
If you fall into the group with one or more health issues that can cause life threatening side effects from the virus, then you should stay home until the second phase of "reopening" begins. I fall into that group so I will be wearing a mask and practice distance for a while longer, even though I think I had the virus from taking a cruise in early Dec.
It's all bolis down to common sense... imo We all need to practice safety health measures going forward, like wearing a mask when sick with colds, etc so we don't spread germs...

[BevSparks]

Assuming the test is accurate - which it is only 88% of the time

Step daughter had test taken 2 days ago in MA and was told 1 of 3 are false negatives.. She is very sick and probably has covid, said she can retest and she said, no thank you...

[TesaA]

Thank You … we need the perspective!

[ficoguy]

Its a damned big country

[Lindsyburnsy]

All you have to do is turn on all except one cable and/or other news outlet you would have been informed that people most governors are begging for the test kits, or supplies that make up the test kits. For instance, the cotton swabs are scarce. Also, the testing machines are now found to be inaccurate.

Your source is ?

[Lindsyburnsy]

We have not tested more than any other country in the world. That is called gaslighting. Everyone that wants a test can get one...false statement. Documents show that Administration knew about an impending pandemic and even did a dry run on what to do. Now the best and brightest vaccine expert who is working frantically to find a vaccine for this Covid 19, has been fired because he wouldn't agree with what was being touted as the "game changer" drug and wanted the $$$ to be used for researching a vaccine. This is why we are the leader in deaths. People who have died at home or in nursing homes are only now being counted. This is a real mess we are in. Then, we have the luxury of waiting until fall to add regular flu season on top of CV19. Start sewing those masks, you're going to need them.

[mtlee024]

I don't get why the richest country in the world is at #42 on the tests/1M population chart (Coronavirus Update (Live): 2,628,469 Cases and 183,491 Deaths from COVID-19 Virus Pandemic - Worldometer (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/)). It is still very difficult to get a test weeks after we were promised they were available to everyone.

If we don't know where we stand re infections (the hidden threat), how can we make a sane decision that it's safe to go back to business as usual?

Hope is not a strategy. I've no confidence in what they're telling me - it is NOT safe to go back to "normal" until we get more testing done.

Who is to say we are. Also, not everyone needs a test, only if you have basic symptoms. You could have a negative test today and contract the virus the next day. A lot of people think the test is the answer, it is not. The answer is a vaccine to prevent you from getting Covid 19 and a process or drug to eliminate the virus if you get it. Think straight not negatively.

[biker1]

Please provide credible sources to substantiate your claims.

We have not tested more than any other country in the world. That is called gaslighting. Everyone that wants a test can get one...false statement. Documents show that Administration knew about an impending pandemic and even did a dry run on what to do. Now the best and brightest vaccine expert who is working frantically to find a vaccine for this Covid 19, has been fired because he wouldn't agree with what was being touted as the "game changer" drug and wanted the $$$ to be used for researching a vaccine. This is why we are the leader in deaths. People who have died at home or in nursing homes are only now being counted. This is a real mess we are in. Then, we have the luxury of waiting until fall to add regular flu season on top of CV19. Start sewing those masks, you're going to need them.

[Dilligas]

Agreed. The blood test to detect antibodies to COVID is what I really want. I feel I've had the virus, with a mild version of most of the symptoms. It would ease my mind to know I was able to fight it.
If you have symptoms, call your doctor and through him you can arrange a test. A lot quicker than waiting, reading TOV, complaining, and fretting.

[Aces4]

Great programs were put in place but cancelled under the current administration.

Really? If the previous administration had all this in place, who stole all the ventilators, masks, gowns, etc.? Where did they all go? Oh wait, the governor of New York, as one of example, decided his state didn’t need them. Well, there goes your theory.

[Twiganne]

Nobody can prepare for a pandemic. A pandemic of what. You can plan testing on a virus that hasn’t even been sequenced until found. They figured out the genetic code really quickly. You just don’t wish them here. Another thing the pandemic team was not dissolved just moved to another department. There was still a pandemic office.

[Lindsyburnsy]

Every news outlet except one conservative outlet. QUOTE=karostay;1751407]Your source is ?[/QUOTE]

[TNLAKEPANDA]

What a stupid statement.

[ficoguy]

Why not test everyone for venereal disease while they're at it?

[ColdNoMore]

We DO NOT do more testing "than every other country combined." :oops:

One only has to do a rudimentary search...to find out that fact.

My previous post, with link, apparently didn't meet the site guidelines, but one can do it themselves...if one cares about honesty & truth. :ho:

[graciegirl]

We have not tested more than any other country in the world. That is called gaslighting. Everyone that wants a test can get one...false statement. Documents show that Administration knew about an impending pandemic and even did a dry run on what to do. Now the best and brightest vaccine expert who is working frantically to find a vaccine for this Covid 19, has been fired because he wouldn't agree with what was being touted as the "game changer" drug and wanted the $$$ to be used for researching a vaccine. This is why we are the leader in deaths. People who have died at home or in nursing homes are only now being counted. This is a real mess we are in. Then, we have the luxury of waiting until fall to add regular flu season on top of CV19. Start sewing those masks, you're going to need them.

I looked that up, about firing the PHD who was NOT the best and brightest vaccine expert as you say, but still the man hired for the job. Let's be fair here in our debates. I think he was fired because of not keeping all available treatments open and of course not doing what the boss wanted him to do....

It is just as bad to generalize and exaggerate as it is to listen to just one side all of the time.

Yes. We are in a mess, but we are not alone in this mess. This awful thing started in November and it has inflicted itself on the world. Everyone is trying to make sense of it, not just the U.S.

Count me as someone who is more interested in listening to the medical doctors than to the politicians on EITHER side about this "mess"

I am so glad we have two M.D.s here in The Villages who regularly step in with needed medical direction. I am sure that no one is going to inject themselves with bleach. I also dislike just trying to make someone MAD over things like the fellow kidding about buying stock in bleach.. It is pointless and we certainly don't need that now. THANK HEAVENS FOR Doctors BLUEASH AND Golfing Eagle.

[Bucco]

I looked that up, about firing the PHD who was NOT the best and brightest vaccine expert as you say, but still the man hired for the job. Let's be fair here in our debates. I think he was fired because of not keeping all available treatments open and of course not doing what the boss wanted him to do....

It is just as bad to generalize and exaggerate as it is to listen to just one side all of the time.

Yes. We are in a mess, but we are not alone in this mess. This awful thing started in November and it has inflicted itself on the world. Everyone is trying to make sense of it, not just the U.S.

Count me as someone who is more interested in listening to the medical doctors than to the politicians on EITHER side about this "mess"

I am so glad we have two M.D.s here in The Villages who regularly step in with needed medical direction. I am sure that no one is going to inject themselves with bleach. I also dislike just trying to make someone MAD over things like the fellow kidding about buying stock in bleach.. It is pointless and we certainly don't need that now. THANK HEAVENS FOR Doctors BLUEASH AND Golfing Eagle.

Seems to me, we in the USA are used to a government response that is consistent, steady and reliable in times of national stress or emergency.

From bungled attempts to keep all quiet, to bungled tests and refusal to acknowledge that fact, to trying to message everything, we simply kept running into ourselves. We still are doing that.

This is not to say the USA was to blame for this virus,but refusal to acknowledge or investigate when our Intelligence agency began to pass warnings, very early on, about what would happen if we did not act, and subsequent actions were counterproductive.

[graciegirl]

Seems to me, we in the USA are used to a government response that is consistent, steady and reliable in times of national stress or emergency.

From bungled attempts to keep all quiet, to bungled tests and refusal to acknowledge that fact, to trying to message everything, we simply kept running into ourselves. We still are doing that.

This is not to say the USA was to blame for this virus,but refusal to acknowledge or investigate when our Intelligence agency began to pass warnings, very early on, about what would happen if we did not act, and subsequent actions were counterproductive.

Count me in as someone who is far more interested in what the medical doctors have to say than to ANY political rhetoric on this issue.

[npwalters]

I just read through all of these with reactions that varied from chuckles to disgusted head shakes. What is clear to me is that this group - like the press - is more about a political agenda than about a rational evaluation of the known facts.

[Fishers2tall]

There was a Pandemic planning commission, dissolved by the administration who didn’t read the science.

This is simply not true. This has been proven to be fake news by the person who led that commission.

No, the White House Didn’t ‘Dissolve’ Its Pandemic Response Office | RealClearPolitics (https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/03/17/no_the_white_house_didnt_dissolve_its_pandemic_res ponse_office_142683.html)

[Bucco]

Count me in as someone who is far more interested in what the medical doctors have to say than to ANY political rhetoric on this issue.

AMEN...no, double AMEN to that.

Our medical folks have been as consistent as possible, but they are not as loud it seems.

We agree totally....the political crap should cease. A medical update for the country should not be a rally.

[TexaninVA]

I just read through all of these with reactions that varied from chuckles to disgusted head shakes. What is clear to me is that this group - like the press - is more about a political agenda than about a rational evaluation of the known facts.

Medical and technical content notwithstanding, for anyone who actually watches the daily WH briefing, it's OBVIOUS the press is in attack mode.

Some ask good questions, but most of the "press" are always seeking the gotcha question, or otherwise seeking to discredit. :ohdear:

It's political warfare and not that well disguised. That kind of political crap, as one poster put it, should indeed cease.

[Bucco]

Medical and technical content notwithstanding, for anyone who actually watches the daily WH briefing, it's OBVIOUS the press is in attack mode.

Some ask good questions, but most of the "press" are always seeking the gotcha question, or otherwise seeking to discredit. :ohdear:

It's political warfare and not that well disguised. That kind of political crap, as one poster put it, should indeed cease.

Wondering what kind of "political" attack would take place to the medical folks ? Wondering if anything they said thus far has been attacked on scene ?

I worked most of my life in politics. This is a staged arena, and it is a shame as we deserve unfiltered information on this situation.

[Bogie Shooter]

Nobody can prepare for a pandemic. A pandemic of what. You can plan testing on a virus that hasn’t even been sequenced until found. They figured out the genetic code really quickly. You just don’t wish them here. Another thing the pandemic team was not dissolved just moved to another department. There was still a pandemic office.

with a desk and a note pad

[TexaninVA]

Wondering what kind of "political" attack would take place to the medical folks ? Wondering if anything they said thus far has been attacked on scene ?

I worked most of my life in politics. This is a staged arena, and it is a shame as we deserve unfiltered information on this situation.

If you've worked most of your life in politics, it should then be easy to recognized the political warfare that's, as I said, obvious. Maybe not?

[npwalters]

Medical and technical content notwithstanding, for anyone who actually watches the daily WH briefing, it's OBVIOUS the press is in attack mode.

Some ask good questions, but most of the "press" are always seeking the gotcha question, or otherwise seeking to discredit. :ohdear:

It's political warfare and not that well disguised. That kind of political crap, as one poster put it, should indeed cease.

I agree