Mass testing is a critical practice in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The data on the number and distribution of infections assists in response planning, containment policies, and estimation of health risks. Quality and speed are crucial aspects of testing since both are incredibly crucial in providing excellent testing results. However, it is challenging to observe both aspects since great speed in testing is more likely to be low quality and vice versa. Since the tests determine the individual health of patients and research quality should be the top priority to guarantee positive outcomes.
Diagnostic tests conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US utilize the speed model that compromises safety and efficacy. The agency has been pushed by the severe effects of COVID-19 that demand more testing capacity to observe speed over tests by issuing emergency authorizations and speedy test designs. Diagnostic tests utilizing the speed model are unmonitored, posing considerable risks of less than desirable accuracy (DePillis, 2020). The downside of erroneous testing for COVID-19 on a large scale is it is likely to exacerbate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Erratic diagnostic accruing the speed model utilized by the FDA causes false medication and severe health outcomes.
The FDA should adopt a quality approach to COVID-19 testing to assure accuracy. Although inaccurate results are not wholly contributed by the speedy testing designs, quality testing feature multiple aspects of patients’ welfare and safety, such as the effects of DNA and RNA on medication (DePillis, 2020). The federal government should invest resources in the FDA to enhance the capacity to address the time-to-market pressure rather than compromise the tests’ quality. Inaccuracy has serious consequences both for the patients and for combating the spread of COVID-19; hence the quality over speed model of testing is the most appropriate testing method.
Reference
Lydia DePillis, C. C. (2020). Coronavirus tests are being fast-tracked by the FDA, but it’s unclear how accurate they are. ProPublica. Web.