In an apparent effort to speed up the availability of tests, HHS Secretary Alex Azar in August revoked the FDA's authority to check new COVID tests for quality and accuracy.
As health care guidance related to the COVID pandemic becomes evermore politicized, key federal government officials are finding themselves under the microscope. The latest is Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar for allegedly hampering the FDA's ability to ensure accuracy and quality of COVID tests.
COVID testing has already been an issue, with many states saying they're unable to meet demand, and others arguing that the backlog and time to get results renders them meaningless. In an apparent effort to speed up the availability of tests, Azar in August revoked the FDA's authority to check new tests for quality and accuracy, Trump administration insiders told POLITICO. Inaccurate tests, resulting in either false positives or false negatives, would further hamper efforts to track outbreaks and keep the virus contained.
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Emily Payne
Emily Payne is director, content analytics for ALM's Business & Finance Markets and former managing editor for BenefitsPRO. A Wisconsin native, she has spent the past decade writing and editing for various athletic and fitness publications. She holds an English degree and Business certificate from the University of Wisconsin.
