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Germany Got Testing Right Germany Got Testing Right
(4 months later)
This article is part of David Leonhardt’s newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it each weekday.This article is part of David Leonhardt’s newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it each weekday.
More than 20,000 people have died from the coronavirus in each of these European countries: France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. More than 17,000 have died in New York City.More than 20,000 people have died from the coronavirus in each of these European countries: France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. More than 17,000 have died in New York City.
But in Germany — which is home to more people than any one of those other European countries and 10 times as many as New York — only about 6,000 have died.But in Germany — which is home to more people than any one of those other European countries and 10 times as many as New York — only about 6,000 have died.
How could that be? There are multiple reasons, but the biggest is probably the country’s approach to testing.How could that be? There are multiple reasons, but the biggest is probably the country’s approach to testing.
As Katrin Bennhold of The Times has written:As Katrin Bennhold of The Times has written:
By the time Germany recorded its first case of Covid-19 in February, laboratories across the country had built up a stock of test kits … Early and widespread testing has allowed the authorities to slow the spread of the pandemic by isolating known cases while they are infectious. It has also enabled lifesaving treatment to be administered in a more timely way.
Testing is the key to every effective strategy for fighting the virus. It allows the sick to be treated effectively. It enables government officials and hospitals to focus their resources on the areas that need it most. And it makes sure that people who have the virus without symptoms — and can unknowingly spread it to others — can be isolated.Testing is the key to every effective strategy for fighting the virus. It allows the sick to be treated effectively. It enables government officials and hospitals to focus their resources on the areas that need it most. And it makes sure that people who have the virus without symptoms — and can unknowingly spread it to others — can be isolated.
The troubled response to the virus in the United States began with testing failures, and there are still not nearly enough tests being conducted. As Michael Osterholm and Mark Olshaker write in a new Op-Ed: “Far too few tests are available in the United States. Some are shoddy. Even the ones that are precise aren’t designed to produce the kind of definitive yes-no results that people expect.”The troubled response to the virus in the United States began with testing failures, and there are still not nearly enough tests being conducted. As Michael Osterholm and Mark Olshaker write in a new Op-Ed: “Far too few tests are available in the United States. Some are shoddy. Even the ones that are precise aren’t designed to produce the kind of definitive yes-no results that people expect.”
The testing problem will need to be solved before states can return to normal — as some are now taking early steps toward — without sparking new outbreaks.The testing problem will need to be solved before states can return to normal — as some are now taking early steps toward — without sparking new outbreaks.
For more …For more …
Scott Gottlieb, of the American Enterprise Institute: “If we can develop a point of care, swabable stick that gives a readable result in the doctor’s office it can dramatically increase screening.”
Shan Soe-Lin and Robert Hecht, Yale University: “What’s needed is widespread testing of people with no known symptoms … We need to aggressively search for asymptomatic carriers, particularly among people who have frequent contact with the public and among vulnerable populations. This includes those who are infectious but will never develop symptoms and those who will develop them days after the test.”
And more from Osterholm, an infectious disease expert, and Olshaker, a writer: “Governments throughout the world and the research, medical-supply and clinical-lab industries must unite to vastly increase global production of reagents and sampling equipment. Achieving this will take months and require building new capacity, presumably with public subsidies. The time and costs involved will be considerable, but such an effort is the only way to test large populations for this infection (and for others in the future).”
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Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram.