Testing sidelined as health departments focus on vaccination
Photo by Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles was the biggest COVID-19 testing site in the United States, with the ability to test over 10,000 people each day. But two weeks into January, amid a chaotic and slow-moving COVID-19 vaccine rollout, the city shut down the site in order to convert it into a vaccination site. The city closed another testing site, as well, temporarily slashing government-run COVID-19 testing capacity by one-third.
It's a pattern playing out across the country, in states like Florida, Nevada, and Illinois. Health departments are working with limited resources to fight COVID-19, and many had to make a choice: keep testing at the same level or focus on vaccinating. We remain very concerned that there's only so many resources to...