"Something's Not Working" | COVID-19 Task Force Considers New Testing Strategy

Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Friday that the White House COVID-19 task force is considering pool testing for the virus, acknowledging that the present testing strategy has proven inadequacy. "Something's not working," he said.

However, Fauci clarified that this proposal is still being discussed and was not announced during the task force press briefing on Friday afternoon.

When asked what seemed to be "not working," Fauci cited the trouble in determining the spread of the virus among asymptomatic people and young individuals, along with the struggle of isolating the said affected individuals.

He added that the contact tracers would encounter problems getting into contact with communities, leading to a high probability of asymptomatic spread.

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A Split Stance over the Testing Issue

Someone close to the task force said that a real faction has emerged among the group over the COVID-19 testing issue.

Some members feel that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have not efficiently managed the testing from the start saying, it is "unbelievable" that there is no extensive program available for testing.

The same group from the task force elaborated that such a testing program, like antigen testing, is quite unbelievable, or more commonly regarded as a "rapid flu test" is not available.

Additionally, the necessity of pool testing might be a testing approach that can contribute to the acceleration and an increased number of individuals.

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How the 'Pool Testing' Works

Pool testing works by combining several samples into a group or pool, then, have the collected sample tested via one diagnostic test.

This strategy enables testing in a big group or batch. For instance, with the 'pool testing,' 25 individuals can get tested at the same time in one testing procedure, instead of 25 separate COVID-19 diagnostic tests.

Testing has always been an issue since the pandemic started, not just in the US, but in almost the entire world. In the US, the CDC's initial test delivered to public health laboratories, reportedly, did not work and led to a delay in getting tests out to public health departments.

In April, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, said that the country needed a breakthrough in testing for screening more people.

Earlier this week, she cited how other countries have been using pooled testing and proposed that such a strategy could significantly increase the nation's knowledge of the manner and areas the infection is spreading.

Birx explained that they have done from about 1,000 diagnostic tests each day to present's more than 500,000 tests every day in just less than three months. However, she said that there's a need for innovation, in terms of testing, and added that she thinks it is more than just having more tests and platforms

Birx also said on Monday, during the American Society for Microbiology's online conference, globally, the way people conduct a million tests is through pool testing. More so, she elaborated that the strategy would lead to people going back to school and work as there would already be the ability to test more frequently.

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