Rockefeller Foundation Announces National Coronavirus Testing Plan With $15 Million Investment

TOPLINE

The Rockefeller Foundation announced a new action plan to expand coronavirus testing on April 21st, and says it will make  a $15 million investment to make that a reality.

KEY FACTS

Key Quote

“The goal is we need to be able to monitor for recurrent outbreaks,” says Jonathan Quick, Managing Director, Pandemic Response, Preparedness, and Prevention at The Rockefeller Foundation. “95% of us in this country are not yet immune to COVID-19, and we’re a while out from a vaccine.”

Key Background

The federal government has been criticized for weeks for its slow rollout of coronavirus testing kits. Many scientists see robust testing efforts as a crucial step needed to reopen the economy, but America is far behind other countries and testing capacities vary drastically by state. Although President Trump said recently that states were conducting “sufficient” amounts of coronavirus testing, governors including Andrew Cuomo and Larry Hogan have repeatedly pushed back against this statement. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has so far granted 41 Emergency Use Authorizations to manufacturers of new coronavirus tests, but that doesn’t mean all of these tests are accessible to the public yet. 

The Rockefeller Foundation is a private philanthropic organization created by the Rockefeller family with more than $4 billion in assets as of 2018. $15 million would be its largest single grant of the year so far. 

Further Reading

The Case For Ending The COVID-19 Pandemic With Mass Testing (Vox)

By June, Abbott Labs Rapid Coronavirus Test To Reach ‘General Population’ (Forbes)

FDA Approves New Rapid Coronavirus Test That Can Give Results In 45 Minutes (Forbes)

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