CDC: Some Coronavirus Testing Kits Sent to States Are Faulty

THURSDAY, Feb. 13, 2020 — Some coronavirus testing kits sent to state laboratories across the United States are flawed and do not provide accurate results, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

Kits were sent to every state, but CDC officials did not reveal how many of the kits were faulty. Distribution of the kits was done so that states could do their own testing and get results faster, instead of having to wait several days for results from the CDC.

“Obviously, a state wouldn’t want to be doing this test and using it to make clinical decisions if it isn’t working as well, as perfectly, at the state as it is at CDC,” Nancy Messonnier, M.D., director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said during a media briefing on Wednesday. The problem appears to be due to one ingredient involved in the test, Messonnier added.

The CDC will make a new supply of that ingredient and send it to all of the state laboratories with the kits, Messonnier said. The ingredient will be shipped to the laboratories as soon as possible, according to officials.

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