(Combating New Crown Pneumonia) U.S. Senate Holds New Crown Pneumonia Outbreak Hearing Questioning Test Efficiency
China News Service, Washington, March 3 (Reporter Shao Tingting) The US Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing on the new crown pneumonia epidemic on the 3rd. Several lawmakers have questioned the effectiveness of the health department in detecting the virus.
Senator Patty Murray from Washington states that, as things stand, states have "serious deficiencies in detection." She says in Washington state, many people who think they might be infected want the test, but they don't know how to do it. "It's totally unacceptable that people in Washington and the states have no way to confirm if they are infected."
According to the latest news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the same day, there are currently 118 confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in the United States, of which 9 have died. All deaths were from Washington State. Murray believes that the lack of detection is the main reason that a care facility in Washington State was discovered after the virus spread widely.
In recent days, many medical experts have questioned the CDC's detection of the new crown virus. They believe that the detection speed of the CDC is too slow and the number of detection objects is too small.
Facing doubts, Anne Schuchat, the chief deputy director of the CDC, said at the hearing that the CDC has done its best to cooperate with public, private, and academic laboratories in the states, and this week will realize that all states have laboratories available. The virus is tested. She also said that this weekend, laboratories across the United States will be able to test 1 million samples.
Shuchart also said that the current CDC test target is not limited to patients with a history of travel in affected countries or patients who have been in close contact with the confirmed infection. With the spread of New Coronary Pneumonia in the United States, people with related symptoms can be tested.
It is reported that since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia outbreak, the CDC has tested 3,000 people for the new crown virus.
Regarding the treatment and protection of new coronary pneumonia, Anthony Fauci, director of the Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, said that as far as the current data are available, 80% of patients can heal themselves, and the remaining 15% to 20% of patients need treatment, most of them elderly and people with other diseases. He said that China was “very cooperative” in sharing data on new coronary pneumonia, which enabled the United States to obtain a lot of useful information.
On the 2nd of this month, US President Trump asked all parties to accelerate the development of a new crown pneumonia vaccine. In response, Fauci said it would take at least a year to a year and a half before the vaccine can be put into use. If you consider production capacity, it may take more time.
When asked about the state's related medical supplies, Robert Kadlec, assistant secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, said that compared with supplies needed for a large-scale outbreak, the current reserve is about 10%.
Currently, both houses of Congress are drafting an emergency budget for the new crown pneumonia outbreak. It is reported that the budget will be voted in both houses this week. (Finish)