Summary.
Given that it will take a year to develop a vaccine for the new coronavirus, the development of an inexpensive, point-of-care, diagnostic kit for use in clinics and homes should be a high priority. It is needed to allow communities to quickly detect and contain the disease. Such an effort requires an accountable leadership, decisive science-based governance, significant financing, and the application of reliable principle-based scientific protocols to determine whom to test, how to interpret results, and how best to treat and quarantine those infected. The U.S. must take the lead in spearheading this effort.In these difficult times, we’ve made a number of our coronavirus articles free for all readers. To get all of HBR’s content delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Daily Alert newsletter.
Covid-19, the new coronavirus, is on the verge of spreading across the world. Large clusters of cases are emerging outside China in South Korea, Italy, and Iran, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expects severe disruptions to occur within the United States. More than any recent pandemic, the coronavirus poses new global challenges. As part of its recently announced $2.5 billion push for vaccines, treatments, and protective equipment, the U.S. government must also make the “crash” development of an inexpensive, point-of-care, diagnostic kit for use in clinics and homes a high priority so communities can quickly detect and contain the disease.