Following a report in the Washington Post that not enough Americans are taking advantage of the slightly increased testing capacity in some states, President Trump once again disingenuously claimed victor
As he has done throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Trump is not being honest.
Here are the facts:
The U.S. Still Does Not Have the Testing Capacity Experts Say Is Needed to Safely Reopen
- The White House Estimates That The U.S. Has Capacity To Test 400,000 People A Day, Less Than Half The 900,000 A Day Leading Harvard Researchers Estimate Is Necessary. “Last week, Jha and other Harvard researchers estimated that the United States should be testing at least 900,000 people a day, or about 8 percent of the population per month… A White House estimate, obtained by The Post, shows the nation has sufficient lab capacity to process at least 400,000 tests per day, and potentially many more. But in surveying the states, The Post found that few are testing at full capacity. In 20 states that provided detailed information, the number of tests performed was roughly 235,000 per day lower than their technical capacity, with the biggest gaps in California and New Jersey.” [Washington Post, 5/17/20]
Not Enough People Are Getting Tested Because Trump’s Mixed Messages Created Mass Confusion and Testing Availability Varies Wildly From County to County
The Trump Administration’s Failure to Produce a Robust and Centralized Testing Strategy Has Caused Lingering Confusion About Who Can Get a Test and How To Get One
- The CDC’s Early Restrictive Guidelines About Who Could Get Tested Has Caused Continued Confusion And Is Contributing To Lower Testing Numbers. “Another major hurdle: lingering confusion about who qualifies. In the earliest days of the outbreak, Americans were told that only the sickest and most vulnerable should get tested while others should stay home. Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed its guidelines to offer tests to people without symptoms who are referred by local health departments or clinicians.” [Washington Post, 5/17/20]
- In Nebraska, Residents Struggled To Schedule Appointments With The Statewide Testing Initiatives Despite Exhibiting Symptoms And Supposedly Qualifying For Testing. “Confusion over who can get tests, a disconnected hotline and how results are reported have generated criticism over the [Test Nebraska] program… [Jessica] Kirk, 26, woke up feeling sick, exhausted and weak last Saturday, her temperature reading 100.8 degrees and rising… On Monday, when her fever had climbed to 102 degrees, Kirk said she registered with Test Nebraska, a $27 million program launched by Gov. Pete Ricketts last month in partnership with three Utah-based companies. The website told her she qualified for testing, Kirk said in a phone interview, but when she tried to schedule a test, she was told there were no times available.” [Lincoln Journal Star, 5/15/20]
- In Kansas, As Of May 12th, Only Residents Who Were Currently Exhibiting Symptoms Were Able To Get Tested. “Even as our state expands our testing capabilities there are still rules to who we’re testing. Kansas, like everywhere else in the country, initially had problems getting enough testing equipment. Now health leaders like Dr. Lee Norman, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary, say that’s not the case. ‘We have abundant, I would even characterize it now, testing capability throughout the state,’ Norman said. That doesn’t mean everyone in the state can get tested. ‘You’ll recall we had more restrictive guidelines in the past, we’ve made those more liberal, but we still require symptoms,’ Norman said.” [KSNT, 5/12/20]
- In Florida, “Long Waits,” “Inconsistent Information,” And A Lack Of Available Of Testing Appointments Presented Obstacles To Residents Seeking Tests. “The idea to provide COVID-19 testing to all who want it in the Tampa Bay area is continuing to prove easier said than done… Issues popped up in Pinellas County… after the county opened three public, no-cost testing sites… Community Health Centers of Pinellas originally said it would take walk-ins and drive-ups at its sites in Clearwater, Pinellas Park and St. Petersburg, though it recommended making an appointment by phone or online. By Wednesday morning, though, it posted online that all appointments were booked up. And on Wednesday afternoon it tweeted that it would no longer accept walk-ins or drive-ups. On social media and in interviews, Pinellas residents complained of long waits, confusing phone systems, inconsistent information and confused staff.” [Tampa Bay Times, 5/6/20]
- According To Health Experts In Minnesota, Early Test Shortages And Restrictive Guidelines About Who Could Be Tested Prolonged The Belief That Testing Wasn’t Available. “‘Providers are telling us: People aren’t coming in, either because they had gotten the message previously that testing wasn’t available or for whatever reason,’ said Jan Malcolm, [Minnesota’s] health commissioner…The gap in recent days between the supply of tests available and the number of people seeking them likely reflects a delay in patients getting the message to be tested if they have symptoms, said Dr. Tim Schacker, vice dean for research at the University of Minnesota Medical School… When there were only limited testing supplies available in March, Minnesota put the priority on testing health care providers, patients already in the hospital and people living in long-term care centers. The state in late April expanded the criteria for who can get tested, but not everyone is aware of the change. ‘Many hospitals and clinics around the state have been operating under the premise of test scarcity and have developed guidelines with the idea that tests are a limited resource,’ Matthew Binnicker, director of the clinical virology lab at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, said via e-mail.” [Minneapolis Star Tribune, 5/9/20]
Despite Increased Testing Capacity in Some States, the Absence of a Coordinated Federal Response Means Access to Tests Varies Widely County to County
- In California, Test Capacity And Access To Kits Varies Widely From County To County, With Poorer, More Rural Areas Often Having Less Access To Testing In The Absence Of A Coordinated Federal Response. “County to county, city to city — even hospital to hospital within a city — testing capacity varies widely, as does the definition of who qualifies for testing. Testing deserts, stemming from an overwhelmed supply chain and a disjointed public health system, have hit hardest in California’s rural north and in lower-income urban neighborhoods with concentrations of residents who already were struggling to get quality medical care, long before the pandemic. In the absence of a coordinated federal response, local health departments, hospitals and commercial labs across the state have been competing for the same scarce materials. Whether they are ‘haves’ — or have-nots — is determined largely by how deep their pockets are, their connections to suppliers and how the state is allocating emergency supplies.” [NPR, 5/3/20]
- Trump’s Refusal To Use The Full Powers Of The Defense Production Act Have Led To Continued Shortages Of Supplies Necessary To Conduct Tests, Causing Shortages With Some Locations One Week And At Other Locations The Next. “The COVID-19 testing process has been plagued by missing components, including swabs, reagents and the chemical solution that keeps samples fresh. Some weeks, there are shortages of some but not others, or one location has them and another doesn’t. Take swabs. They are able to work with any approved swab test. The name suggests something as simple as a Q-tip, but they are more specialized. Nasopharyngeal swabs, as they’re called, are considered medical devices and must be long and flexible enough to get all the way through the nose to the back of the throat.” [NPR, 5/12/20]
Instead of Urging People to Get Tested, Trump Has Repeatedly Downplayed the Importance of Testing While Attempting to Undercount the Number of Positive Cases in the United States
- May 14, 2020: Trump Called Testing “Overrated” And Falsely Claimed That “If We Didn’t Do Any Testing, We Would Have Very Few Cases.”. “‘And don’t forget, we have more cases than anybody in the world,’ he added. ‘But why? Because we do more testing. When you test, you have a case. When you test, you find something is wrong with people. If we didn’t do any testing, we would have very few cases.’Trump said the news media had refused to report his ‘common sense’ explanation for the country’s high case numbers. He repeated the misleading claim that the U.S. has tested more people than other countries, sidestepping the reality that testing as a share of the population is lower than in other countries. ‘So we have the best testing in the world,’ Trump said. ‘It could be the testing’s, frankly, overrated? Maybe it is overrated. But whatever they start yelling, we want more, we want more. You know, they always say we want more, we want more because they don’t want to give you credit.’” [Politico, 5/14/20]
- Trump On May 8, 2020: “The Whole Concept Of Tests Aren’t Necessarily Great.” “He added the next day of an aide to Vice President Pence testing positive: ‘She tested very good for a long period of time, and then all of a sudden, today she tested positive. … So she tested positive out of the blue. This is why the whole concept of tests aren’t necessarily great. The tests are perfect, but something can happen between a test — where it’s good, and then something happens, and all of a sudden — she was tested very recently and tested negative. And then today, I guess, for some reason, she tested positive.’” [Washington Post, 5/15/20]
- May 7, 2020: While Downplaying The Need For Daily Testing For White House Officials, Trump Argued That Testing Was A “Fallacy.” “Over the past week or so, though, Trump has been more direct about his disregard for the importance of testing — culminating in the ‘overrated’ comments Thursday. ‘But they do the tests, and it just shows you that the fallacy — it’s what I’ve been saying: Testing is not a perfect art,’ Trump said May 7, adding: ‘But even when you test once a day, somebody could — something happens where they catch something.’” [Washington Post, 5/15/20]
- Trump On May 6, 2020: “By Doing All Of This Testing, We Make Ourselves Look Bad.” “Though public-health experts have consistently said the US needs to ramp up testing for the coronavirus to contain and defeat it, President Donald Trump does not see it that way. On Wednesday, Trump said that too much testing makes the US ‘look bad.’ ‘So the media likes to say we have the most cases, but we do, by far, the most testing. If we did very little testing, we wouldn’t have the most cases. So, in a way, by doing all of this testing, we make ourselves look bad,’ Trump said during a meeting with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.” [Business Insider, 5/7/20]
- April 23, 2020: Trump Disagreed With Dr. Anthony Fauci’s Call For The United States To Ramp Up Testing. “In an interview with Time that was published Thursday, Fauci — the top U.S. infectious disease expert and member of the White House coronavirus task force — said he wasn’t confident the U.S. is at a place to ramp up testing. ‘We need to significantly ramp up not only the number of tests, but the capacity to perform them, so that you don’t have a situation where you have a test, but it can’t be done because there isn’t a swab, or because there isn’t extraction media or not the right vial,’ Fauci told Time. ‘I am not overly confident right now at all that we have what it takes to do that. We are doing better, and I think we are going to get there, but we are not there yet.’ Trump said Thursday he disagreed with Fauci’s remarks, claiming the U.S. is ‘very advanced in testing.’” [Fox News, 4/23/20]
- April 10, 2020: Trump Argued That Less Hard-Hit Areas Didn’t Need Testing, Saying “You Don’t Need Testing There, You Know, Where You Have A State With A Small Number Of Cases.” “He added April 10 that less hard-hit areas ‘don’t need testing.’ ‘No, I don’t want to test 350 million people. I think it’s ridiculous,’ he said, before adding of such states: ‘But they’re very, very capable states, and they’re big distances. A lot of land. A lot of opening. You don’t need testing there, you know, where you have a state with a small number of cases.’” [Washington Post, 5/15/20]
- April 9, 2020: While Public Health Experts Stressed That More Testing Was Necessary To Ease Social Distancing, Trump Argued That Widespread Testing “Isn’t Necessary.” “As public health experts and U.S. officials begin to think about how and when the country should start easing social distancing, President Donald Trump on Thursday said widespread testing ‘isn’t necessary, but would be a good thing to have’ before the economy reopens. At the White House Coronavirus Task Force daily press briefing, Trump continued to praise the country’s testing capabilities, which have ramped up significantly in recent weeks. Public health experts say the U.S. needs more in order to lift social distancing restrictions. When asked if the country needs a nationwide testing system for the virus before people can start going back to work, Trump said, ‘No. We have a great testing system, the best testing system in the world.’” [Forbes, 4/9/20]
- March 25, 2020: Trump Downplayed The Need To Expand Testing, Insisting Despite Evidence That The Coronavirus Was “Confined To Certain Areas” And Discouraging Testing That Might Show Otherwise. “In late March and early April, he downplayed the need to expand testing in areas with few confirmed cases. ‘But if you take a look at the states — and many states that I’m talking about, they don’t have a problem, we have some big problems — but it’s confined to certain areas, high-density areas,’ Trump said on March 25. ‘So why would we test the entire nation — 350 [million] people?’” [Washington Post, 5/15/20]
- March 7, 2020: Trump Opposed Taking 21 People Who Had Tested Positive For Coronavirus Off Of A Cruise Ship Because It Would Increase The Case Numbers In The United States. “The Grand Princess cruise ship hangs in limbo off the coast of San Francisco after 21 of its passengers and crew members tested positive for the new coronavirus. It is unclear what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plan to do next, or whether the California state government will allow the ship to dock. In the meantime, the 2,422 passengers onboard have been asked to stay in their rooms. The ship also holds 1,111 crew members, many of whom continue to bring meals to passengers’ rooms. During a tour at the CDC on Friday, President Donald Trump said that the experts he consults, including Vice President Mike Pence, want to take people off the ship. However, Trump said that he didn’t want the passengers raising the total case count in the US. ‘I like the numbers being where they are. I don’t need to have the numbers double because of one ship that wasn’t our fault,’ Trump said in a Fox News interview.” [Business Insider, 3/7/20]