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Bill Gates says U.S. testing problems are 'mind-blowing'
CNBC Live Updating
22 MINS AGO
Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said it's "mind-blowing" that the U.S. government has been unable to ramp up its ability to provide rapid coronavirus diagnostic tests months into the outbreak.
"You're paying billions of dollars in this very inequitable way to get the most worthless test results of any country in the world," he said on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" on Sunday. He also reiterated that commercial laboratories should not be compensated for tests that don't return results within three days. "No other country has this testing insanity."
Gates said he's been in touch with the federal government and that he's recommended the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention establish a public website to prioritize who gets tested and how quickly.
Quest and LabCorp, two of the largest commercial labs in the U.S., previously warned that they were overwhelmed by the demand for diagnostic testing, creating a lag in turnaround time for test results. Gates said last month that the lag makes most tests a "complete waste" because it takes so long to get results that people can't self-isolate once they find out they have the virus. U.S. officials have repeatedly defended U.S. testing capacity, saying that the country conducts more tests than any other country in the world.
"You're paying billions of dollars in this very inequitable way to get the most worthless test results of any country in the world," he said on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" on Sunday. He also reiterated that commercial laboratories should not be compensated for tests that don't return results within three days. "No other country has this testing insanity."
Gates said he's been in touch with the federal government and that he's recommended the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention establish a public website to prioritize who gets tested and how quickly.
Quest and LabCorp, two of the largest commercial labs in the U.S., previously warned that they were overwhelmed by the demand for diagnostic testing, creating a lag in turnaround time for test results. Gates said last month that the lag makes most tests a "complete waste" because it takes so long to get results that people can't self-isolate once they find out they have the virus. U.S. officials have repeatedly defended U.S. testing capacity, saying that the country conducts more tests than any other country in the world.
Link to live updates: https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/08/10/coronavirus-live-updates.html
You have to scroll down a little bit for this update.
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