• Text Resize A A A
  • Print Print
  • Share Share on facebook Share on twitter Share
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 20, 2020
Contact: ASH Press Office
202-205-0143
[email protected]

Trump Administration Uses Defense Production Act to Aid Our Most Vulnerable

Under the leadership of President Trump, the Department of Health and Human Services leveraged the Defense Production Act (DPA) to apply priority rated orders for contracts with Becton Dickinson (BD) and Quidel Corporation through September. These acquisitions will fulfill a large-volume purchase of diagnostic systems and assays for COVID-19 testing and will expedite shipments of these systems and assays to every nursing home certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services (CMS) with a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) Certificate of Waiver – approximately 14,000 nursing homes – in the United States. The tests can diagnose SARS-CoV-2 infection in approximately 15 minutes. In response, Assistant Secretary for Health and COVID-19 Testing Coordinator Admiral Brett P. Giroir, M.D., issued the following statement:

"The federal efforts to supply nursing homes with rapid point-of-care antigen instruments and tests is our highest priority to save lives and the US Government will exert its full authority to complete this mission. We are invoking the priority rating of the Defense Production Act to expedite shipments of instruments and antigen tests to give nursing homes the ability to perform these rapid tests. HHS will continue to explore every possible avenue to get life-saving supplies to the frontlines of this war on the virus.

I would also like to take this opportunity to publicly thank both BD and Quidel for their excellent work in responding to an urgent need for an expansion of COVID-19 testing."

###
Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other news materials are available at https://www.hhs.gov/news.
Like HHS on Facebook, follow HHS on Twitter @HHSgov, and sign up for HHS Email Updates.
Last revised: August 21, 2020

Subscribe to RSS

Receive latest updates

Subscribe to our RSS