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- House Committee Reviews Latest COVID-19 Testing, Needs for Additional Support
On February 3, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health gathered testimony on the administration’s COVID-19 relief and response plan. Two Biden COVID-19 advisors who spoke at the hearing advocated for significant investments in vaccine distribution, testing, data collection, education, and coordination between the federal government and the states. The CAP has called for similar support from the administration.
House lawmakers and hearing panelists further discussed issues with COVID-19 testing supply shortages. The CAP has collected data showing testing supply shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic and has advocated for solutions to address supply chain issues.
The Health Subcommittee hearing included Luciana Borio, MD, and Julie Morita, MD, from the White House COVID-19 response team. The hearing came as Congress works toward passing a large COVID-19 relief and response package put forth by President Biden.
During the hearing, Drs. Borio and Morita discussed how public health experts called for a comprehensive, national testing strategy “that would ensure testing supplies were allocated efficiently, and tests were available to all who needed them.” At the end of 2020, Congress passed legislation requiring the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a comprehensive national COVID-19 testing strategy. The strategy is required to be completed by late-March 2021. The Government Accountability Office has also called for a national strategy as recently as January. Such a strategy should include a clear purpose, risk assessment, goals, and a coordination plan.