Heiwai Tang

Opinion | Why the coronavirus is a ticking time bomb in the US: a costly and inefficient health care system

The US’ slow initial response to the threat of Covid-19, the shortage of testing kits and confusion over who can get tested are symptoms of long-term structural problems in the country’s health care system

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Heiwai Tang

Published: 3:00am, 18 Mar 2020Updated: 4:51am, 18 Mar 2020

“No nation is more prepared and more resilient than the United States,” said US President Donald Trump in an address to the nation on the coronavirus epidemic on March 11.

Is this true? While the US has some of the world’s best medical scientists, research institutions and pharmaceutical innovations, its health care system is too fragile to protect its citizens from any epidemic.

The US, like China but for completely different reasons, missed many golden opportunities at the initial stage of the epidemic to slow its spread. For example, Dr Helen Chu, director of the Seattle Flu Study, had repeatedly tried to get government approval to test their swab samples – which had been collected to monitor the flu – for the coronavirus since late January.

Frustrated by multiple rejections from the authorities even as the outbreak exploded in other countries, Chu decided to perform the tests without government approval in late February. A test from a teenager, who had no recent overseas travel, came back positive.

Six weeks after Chu began trying to get around bureaucratic red tape, the coronavirus has killed 37 people and infected over 500 others in Washington state.

One can understand the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration not allowing private labs to run the tests. Quality concerns aside, they might have wanted to centralise efforts to combat the epidemic.