CDC Declined 500-Case Measles Test Validation After 2-Month Delay
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Oct 21
CDC Declined 500-Case Measles Test Validation After 2-Month Delay
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Oct 21
Summary
California and Washington told the CDC in May that a high-volume measles test could diagnose 500 cases in eight hours during spring outbreaks, but the agency did not respond for two months.
A letter from the West Coast Health Alliance — California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii — said the CDC later replied that it had "other competing priorities" and could not devote time to making the test available to state labs.
The states urged new CDC Director Erica Schwartz, who took office in August, to develop and distribute protocols for high-throughput measles and other pathogen tests so public health labs can handle large outbreaks.
HHS did not answer questions about any validation plan, saying only that the CDC is supporting state and local departments and prioritizing emerging technologies under Schwartz.