As the Trump administration claims that coronavirus testing has expanded nationwide, many labs are receiving far fewer samples to test than they can process.
The Wall Street Journal reported that myriad factors are contributing to the issue, including supply chain problems, technical glitches, and the absence of a centralized system to keep everything organized.
"We have university laboratories around this country that have the ability to run 1,000 or 3,000 tests per day, yet many of them are nowhere near capacity," Michael Pellini, a contributor to the Rockefeller Foundation's national COVID-19 testing action plan, told the Journal. "We need to make sure they're utilized."
Some labs, the Journal reported, are receiving just a quarter of the test samples they are equipped to handle. The disorganized system includes several types of tests and lacks a centralized tracking database for healthcare providers to use as they order testing for COVID-19 — a disease that's infected more than 1 million Americans and killed nearly 60,000.
Early hurdles in the coronavirus testing process were mostly due to a lack of tests for everyone with symptoms of the disease.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says on its website that guidelines for getting tested vary by state. The agency also advises that not everyone who has symptoms of the virus needs to be tested.
"Although supplies of tests are increasing, it may still be difficult to find a place to get tested," the CDC added.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, said Tuesday there will be enough tests available by the end of May or early June to test every American who needs one.
"That's what I'm being told by the people who are responsible for the testing," he said.
Some states are beginning to reopen their economies and are allowing some businesses to operate after being closed for weeks to control the spread of the virus. Built into those plans, however, is the ability to conduct widespread testing — which in many parts of the country is not yet available.
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