By Virginia Langmaid, CNN
Coronavirus testing in the United States is down from where is has been at previous points in the pandemic. However, health officials are working to get those numbers up again.
In a discussion on Tuesday hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said there are plans to expand testing capacity in the United States, and that research is ongoing into improving test access.
n a briefing by the White House Covid-19 Response Team on Monday, White House Covid-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said the federal government has communicated to states that it is prepared to help increase testing capacity.
"Last week we reiterated to all governors that we stand ready to help them in meeting this moment, whether that be through more testing, increasing treatments, vaccine access and uptake, or other state-specific needs," he said.
The 7-day average of new tests is now just over 584,000 per day, down from over 1.5 million per day six months ago and about 900,000 per day a year ago, according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Dr. Patrick Godbey, president of the College of American Pathologists, agreed that there is a need for greater testing.
"I think more testing is a good thing, for many reasons. One of the important things to remember is, first of all, bad data is worse than no data at all," Godbey told CNN.