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  • March 30, 2020
  • Article
  • Harvard Business Review Digital Articles

Why Is the U.S. Behind on Coronavirus Testing?

By: Stefan Thomke
  • Format:Electronic
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Abstract

Coronavirus testing is needed to address the uncertainty in making decisions about patient treatment, resource allocation, policy, and so much more. Answers to questions such as “When should we relax social distancing measures—and for whom?” or “How many ventilators are needed in hospitals?” are vital to our economic recovery and public health outcomes and cannot be answered without reliable test data. If testing is so valuable, why wasn’t the United States prepared to deploy tests quickly, even before Covid-19 hit the country?

Keywords

Testing; Coronavirus; Culture; Trump; Data; Experiments; Health Pandemics; Health Testing And Trials; Government And Politics; United States

Citation

Thomke, Stefan. "Why Is the U.S. Behind on Coronavirus Testing?" Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (March 30, 2020).
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About The Author

Stefan H. Thomke

Technology and Operations Management
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