PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Public health is all about preventing illness. If you talk to epidemiologists, they will tell you that testing and tracking are crucial in a pandemic to help prevent spread.
The development of tests to detect COVID-19 infection was met with incredible fanfare, but public education and the stockpiling of tests did not happen to the extent necessary. Over the years, health care has increasingly been viewed as a business, and supply is quite often provided only after demand.
Despite warnings that omicron was following a consistent course from South Africa through parts of Europe, it was only after the arrival in the U.S. and the inevitable increase of cases that the need to dramatically increase production of tests occurred.
At this point, the need for testing and tracking is more important than ever — we have learned and need to move forward.
KYW Newsradio’s Medical Reports are sponsored by Independence Blue Cross.