Why can't Gates, Bloomberg and the Clinton foundation get a rapid test

[onecaliberal]

For the virus and distribute it widely. If we don’t start testing A LOT of people now, this it’s going to get much worse.

Dump had one job. He is responsible for every death in America.

[Claustrum]

1. I think I heard that there are tests out there, but they aren't FDA approved.

and guess who control the FDA right now?

[onecaliberal]

2. We need to go around them. It's way past the point to count on these incompetent assholes.

[EndlessWire]

17. The news said

CBS, I think, that it wasn't a lack of kits, but a lack of reagents to go with the kits. There is a nation-wide shortage.

[still_one]

3. That is exactly what the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation are doing

[BumRushDaShow]

4. Gates is already doing that (and Bezos with Amazon, is joining for other initiatives)

https://www.gatesfoundation.org/TheOptimist/coronavirus

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/11/amazon-care-gates-foundation-may-deliver-coronavirus-tests-in-seattle.html

The issue here with too much "rushing" without any "validating" is that the tests might result in too many false positives or false negatives. There will never be a perfect test due to everyone's unique biology but you do want to try to reduce the possibilities of bad results that end up using up resources that are needed for the truly infected.

[stillcool]

5. they're working on it...

I did a quick search, and found Gates, and Bezo's, but don't feel like searching for more.

Amazon and Gates Foundation may team up to deliver coronavirus test kits to Seattle homes
PUBLISHED WED, MAR 11 20204:29 PM EDTUPDATED WED, MAR 11 20206:42 PM EDT
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/11/amazon-care-gates-foundation-may-deliver-coronavirus-tests-in-seattle.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/03/09/bill-gates-fund-coronavirus-home-testing-kits-seattle-says-report/4998689002/

A project funded by billionaire Bill Gates is set to issue at-home testing kits for people who fear they have been infected with the coronavirus.

Just days after the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a second round of investment to help detect and treat the new coronavirus, The Seattle Times reports that a project backed by the couple will be delivered to people in the Seattle area in the coming weeks.

Participants in the study will self administer a nose-swab and send the sample to health officials for testing. Medical experts will then notify those who test positive for the respiratory illness that has killed at least 3,000 people globally and sickened thousands, the report said.
********************************
So far, no launch date has been determined. "While we’re working quickly with our partners to determine what’s possible, details of this support have not yet been finalized," the foundation told USA TODAY in a statement.

[Eugene]

6. One of the problems is that supply chains are strained and key chemicals are in short supply.

https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/10/shortage-crucial-chemicals-us-coronavirus-testing/

[onecaliberal]

7. This is why we should have been preparing since December.

We knew it was coming.

[former9thward]

8. Maybe you can link to show "we knew it was coming" in December.

[onecaliberal]

9. There is no link for common sense.

[former9thward]

11. Why did no one post about this particular virus was coming in December?

I guess I missed that. You do know, don't you, that actual scientists, rather than anonymous internet posters, have to know what the virus is before a test can be developed? There is no one size fits all. That is why there are different vaccines for flu every year.

[LanternWaste]

10. As soon as you link to "sports franchises aren't doing anything!!!"

We all have a little bit of the fortune-teller in us.

Some of us are just abjectly worse at it than others in regards to awkward timing.

[Eugene]

12. COVID-19 was first officially acknowledged at the end of December.

Source: CNN via KRDO-TV

https://krdo.com/health/2020/03/11/wuhan-coronavirus-timeline-fast-facts/

1st week of January: Chinese officials start to act and start a "retrospective" investigation of the outbreak.

2nd-3rd weeks of January: First reported death and first reported overseas infection. First airport screenings start.

From this point onward, there is plenty of blame to go around, from official refusal to heed scientific advice to the unwillingness to coordinate a global response. That does not absolve the Trump administration of dismantling existing pandemic response programs in the belief that they could just hire some smart people once a disaster hits. The administration's de-funding CDC, DHS and DoD agencies and leaving key surviving positions unfilled is a matter of public record.

The Trump administration denied the seriousness of the situation, and at the same time they outsourced testing to two private companies who screwed up.

[former9thward]

13. Do you know how long it takes to develop test kits for a particular strain of virus?

I guess you don't. And then get it approved? I guess you don't . And then get it actually manufactured on a mass basis? I guess you don't.

[Eugene]

14. From the timeline above, a working covid-19 test was developed in early January.

A virus test that can be used in a lab is a much simpler deal than a vaccine that needs clinical trials. The World Health Organization has an approved test. Much of the testing know-how and infrastructure was developed after the MERS outbreak.

This Forbes article is informative:

The federal government refused to use a valid World Health Organization test. Then on February 12th, the US Center for Disease Control admitted that their COVID-19 tests were faulty. On March 12th, California Governor Gavin Newsom stated that California received testing kits from the federal government that were missing components required for use. It was not until March 4th that the federal government permitted non-governmental scientific entities to create a COVID-19 test. We are sorely lacking in the number of tests available per capita compared to other countries.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephaniesarkis/2020/03/12/covid-19-its-not-about-europe-its-about-incompetence/

Other countries run more tests in a single day the the United States has done since January. Tom Hanks could be tested because he was in Australia. He likely could not have been tested stateside.

And finally, the latest reporting from NPR is that Trump blocked the ramp-up of testing because it conflicted with his all-is-well narrative. The U.S. is flying blind. This didn't have to be.

[uponit7771]

15. Yes, after China reported the genetic sequence to WHO it took around 1.5 weeks. The "approval" is ..

... not by who but via nation and the FDA wouldn't approve WHO test specs for CV and CV19 cause Trump crony had to make money from CDC contract.

This is horrible

[uponit7771]

16. +1, if the Pandemic Response Team was still up and going we would've been ahead in December

... when China was still in denial.

There were Harvard people in China when all this kicked off.

Trump made things worse