Officials say slow rollout of COVID-19 tests ineffective
This is the latest piece in our Coronavirus Update series, in which Harvard specialists in epidemiology, infectious disease, economics, politics, and other disciplines offer insights into what the latest developments in the COVID-19 outbreak may bring. The good news about epidemics is that they all eventually end, Harvard Chan School immunologist Barry Bloom said Monday evening. The bad news is, you have to move fast to contain them. “The world will not come to an end, but … speed is of the essence and in all the major epidemics I’m aware of in modern times, nobody acted quickly enough,” said Bloom, the Joan L. and Julius H. Jacobson Research Professor of Public Health and former Chan School dean. Bloom’s warning came amid a growing national outcry about the slow pace of testing for the new coronavirus. Harvard Chan School epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch said at an event earlier in the day that U.S. national...