Contamination at CDC lab delayed rollout of coronavirus tests washingtonpost.com/investigations…
The CDC facilities that assembled the kits violated sound manufacturing practices, resulting in contamination of one of the three test components used in the highly sensitive detection process, the scientists said.
The cross contamination most likely occurred because chemical mixtures were assembled into kits w/in a lab space that was also handling synthetic coronavirus material. The scientists also said the proximity deviated from accepted procedures and jeopardized testing for the virus.
Food and Drug Administration officials concluded that the CDC violated its own laboratory standards in making the kits. The substandard practices exposed the kits to contamination.
Afterwards, CDC officials took more than a month to remove the unnecessary step from the kits, exacerbating nationwide delays in testing, according to an examination of federal documents and interviews with more than 30 present and former federal scientists and others.
Many spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
This account confirms for the first time the contamination’s role in undermining the test and the CDC’s failure to meets its lab standards.
This account confirms for the first time the contamination’s role in undermining the test and the CDC’s failure to meets its lab standards.
