As Prepared for Delivery
Thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership in marshalling all the resources we have for this unprecedented testing effort, and thank you, Mr. Vice President, for leading a whole-of-economy approach to testing.
As the President mentioned, today, the United States hit more than 1 million samples tested—a number that no other country has reached. We are now testing nearly 100,000 samples a day—also a level that no other country has reached.
New options are coming online all the time, including the rapid test from Abbott that the President described.
I want to thank every partner that has been involved in this effort. That includes all of the men and women at FDA and CDC, including Director Redfield and Commissioner Hahn.
Together, FDA and CDC have worked to balance the need for testing on an aggressive scale with the scientific rigor that Americans expect.
Working with our testing coordinator, Admiral Giroir, they have now truly unleashed the ingenuity of the private sector and our state and local leaders, the centerpieces of America’s historic approach to testing.
I want to thank those state and local leaders, who have used their on-the-ground resources and knowledge to lead testing and make it much more easily accessible to the Americans who need it.
I’m also grateful to FEMA, with whom we’re now working closely to get state and local partners what they need.
I also want to thank CMS, where Administrator Verma has given healthcare providers unprecedented flexibility to scale up capacity for testing and treatment, and has ensured tests will be paid for.
Finally, we would not be where we are today without the many American companies, entrepreneurs, and scientists who have worked day and night to develop, as of today, 20 different emergency testing options.
With the FDA responding to requests for authorization typically within 24 hours, the number of options is growing nearly every day. FDA has also opened up new options for using the available tests, like self-swabbing and new options for reagents.
I also want to thank FDA and other components of HHS for incredibly rapid action on other tools we need.
As the President mentioned, this past weekend, we worked to secure 30 million tablets from Sandoz and 1 million tablets from Bayer of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, which are potential COVID-19 treatments, and we authorized use of Battelle’s new decontamination machines, which can each sterilize thousands of essential N95 masks for reuse every day.
Thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership, and thank you to everyone who has played a part in getting us where we are today.
