MIKE STOBBE and MATTHEW PERRONE
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. lag in coronavirus testing is "a failing," a top federal health official said Thursday, and public health experts say they still don't have a good understanding of how widely the new virus has spread.
The effort initially was hobbled by delays in getting testing kits out to public health labs, but the stumbles have continued, leading scientists to conclude that the virus has already spread far wider than government officials are reporting.
U.S. health officials, for example, promised nearly a month ago to tap into a national network of labs that monitor for flu. That system is only just getting started.
On Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health agreed that the U.S. needs to improve h
