When I read articles like this…..the admission of faulty tests that were manufactured too quickly and without proper oversight, I wonder how people still have faith in the CDC. I find it even more curious when an admission such as this is printed in the New York Times:
“It’s something that should have been caught in the design phase,” said Susan Butler-Wu, a clinical microbiologist at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. “That’s one thing that you check for.”
The investigation also confirmed that the test kits had been contaminated with synthetic fragments of the virus’s genetic material. These synthetic sequences, which are often used to ensure that the tests are working properly, were manufactured at the same C.D.C. lab where the test kits were undergoing a quality analysis. It is “likely” that the test kits were contaminated there, the agency concluded.
The contamination suggests that the agency violated standard manufacturing protocols, officials have said. The problems may also have been a sign of an agency in a rush, experts said.