Laredo was in desperate need of coronavirus tests.
So, a private emergency room owner paid $500,000 up front for 20,000 tests.
But city health workers quickly determined the tests were unreliable and unusable.
New with @propublica. bit.ly/2xjIe5x
So, a private emergency room owner paid $500,000 up front for 20,000 tests.
But city health workers quickly determined the tests were unreliable and unusable.
New with @propublica. bit.ly/2xjIe5x
2/ It's a bitter example of what can go wrong when local governments try to buy supplies on the open market from unknown manufacturers. bit.ly/2xjIe5x
3/ Critics say the FDA isn’t keeping up with a growing number of international manufacturers peddling kits in online emporiums, sometimes claiming FDA authorizations that don’t exist. bit.ly/2xjIe5x
4/ Today, Laredo, a city of 260,000 on the banks of the Rio Grande, faces a much more dire coronavirus situation than it did a week ago when the tests arrived. bit.ly/2xjIe5x
5/5 As the kits sat unused, six Laredoans died of COVID-19 over seven days, giving the city one of the highest per capita death rates in the state. bit.ly/2xjIe5x
