“I can’t judge how serious a problem this is because they’re not giving any specifics,” said Susan Butler-Wu, an associate professor of clinical pathology at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, of the FDA’s safety communication. Meanwhile, Curative’s CEO, Fred Turner, has said he remains “confident” in the accuracy of the tests, but the company has issued vague and misleading statements in its defense, outside experts say. The FDA's alert didn’t reveal any information about the tests that wasn’t already publicly available, nor did it explain what prompted the warning. Testing experts told BuzzFeed News that the FDA notice - and Curative’s response - raised more questions than answers about a widely used testing service, at a time when a more contagious version of the virus is increasing the urgent need for fast, accurate diagnoses. Still other regions are inking new deals with the company.
The US Air Force, which has a $42 million deal with Curative, said that it was “carefully considering” the FDA notice but said that the test has helped prevent outbreaks. In the Bay Area, San Francisco’s school district and Sonoma County are walking away from pilot programs.īut other major municipalities told BuzzFeed News that they will keep using or directing people to Curative sites, and are still doing so without requiring that people have symptoms. On Capitol Hill, where members of Congress and staffers regularly take Curative tests, federal health officials are exploring alternatives. Los Angeles County, where a surging caseload is crushing hospitals, broke ties with the company. The FDA alert set off panic and confusion, prompting some of Curative’s clients to reconsider using the test. It rose to prominence by promising “fast, simple, painless” spit tests that are self-administered.īut last week, the FDA warned that Curative’s tests run “the risk of false results, particularly false negative results.” It cautioned that its tests should only be administered to people with COVID-19 symptoms and under the supervision of healthcare workers.ĭo you have information to share about Curative's COVID-19 testing? You can reach this reporter at or. The Southern California company claims to have processed more than 13 million tests, or 10% of all tests nationwide.
In less than a year, the startup Curative has gone from barely existing to being one of the biggest coronavirus testing providers in the United States.
0 kommentar(er)
