July 8, 2020 – American Medical Technologists (AMT) joined seven other laboratory organizations today in urging the White House Coronavirus Task Force to address a number of ongoing obstacles the lab community faces in performing diagnostic and serology tests for COVID-19.
In a joint letter to Vice President Mike Pence, the group described significant difficulties they have experienced in acquiring the supplies needed to perform COVID-19 testing —test kits, nasopharyngeal and mid-turbinate swabs, transport media, and personal protective equipment (PPE). The group urged better coordination between the federal government and the states, and specifically requested that the Task Force provide:
- Names and contact information for individuals in each state who are overseeing the supply chain for testing supplies and PPE.
- Visibility into the process of supply allocation, demonstrating that the supplies being distributed at the state level are being allocated in a way that reflects the greatest need to effectively address COVID-19 in the US.
The organizations emphasized the need for laboratories to understand in real-time, resource availability and reagent and supply quantities for planning purposes. To that end, the urged the federal government to take a leading role in increasing transparency about the availability of these materials from both government and commercial manufacturers.
A copy of the group’s letter to Vice President Pence can be viewed here.