Responding to numerous complaints about the shortage of coronavirus tests in the U.S, the Trump administration on Friday named a testing “czar” at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Separately, the FDA posted on Twitter that labs having problems getting supplies for collecting patient samples for testing should call the agency’s toll-free information hotline.
And Medicare announced it will pay about $36 for the CDC coronavirus test and around $51 for tests from other providers.
The testing czar is Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health, and head of the government’s uniformed Public Health Service. He will be responsible for coordinating between CDC and FDA, as well as private labs and state and local governments.
The United States has tested far few people per capita than other countries like South Korea and Italy.