Eight organizations representing U.S. testing labs sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence urging the government to find remedies for supply chain obstacles to performing COVID-19 tests, MedTech Dive reported.
The letter asked Mr. Pence, who heads the Coronavirus Task Force, to help labs obtain a list of names and contact information for the people in each state overseeing the supply chain for testing supplies and personal protective equipment.
The organizations also asked to know more about the supply allocation process to ensure supplies are being distributed at the state level in a way that most effectively addresses COVID-19 testing requirements, MedTech Dive reported.
The Association for Molecular Pathology published a survey in late May showing more than 70 percent of U.S. labs suffered significant delays to COVID-19 testing programs because of ongoing supply chain disruptions, according to MedTech Dive.
The association previously requested that the government and commercial producers of testing supplies give labs real-time updates on the availability of testing materials.
"There is a need for laboratories to understand, in real time, resource availability and reagent and supply quantities for planning purposes, and therefore we request that the federal government take a leading role in increasing transparency about the availability of these materials from both government and commercial manufacturers," the letter states.
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