A Solution to COVID-19 Is in Sight!

A solution to the COVID-19 epidemic is in sight. It is the combo used by South Korea, where people are back at work, to successfully stem its COVID-19 outbreak. It has three parts: (1) greatly expanded testing of those who could be infected and (2) effective treatment of the virus with a hydroxychloroquine-zinc cocktail, combined with (3) the product of American ingenuity: rapid development of vaccines.

While these solutions might be thwarted by bureaucracy, progress is happening rapidly, and there are reasons why our collective Groundhog Day of staying at home every day while the economy falters and body counts grow could soon be over.

Greatly Expanded Testing

Testing is one key. South Korea did its testing for COVID-19 by setting up drive-through testing stations around the country. Sufficient tests are now available in the United States to make testing widespread, but it isn't happening. During President Trump's Coronavirus Task Force press conference on Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence and Task Force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx discussed the problem:

THE VICE PRESIDENT: On the subject of testing, we have now completed more than 1.1 million tests around the country. We're working very closely with governors around America to — to assist them in drive-through and community testing centers[.] ...

Abbott Laboratories is actually going to be producing 50,000 tests a day and distributing those around America. There's already the machines in some 18,000 different locations around the country, and they've told us they have several thousand on the shelf now[.] ...

We're testing about 100,000 Americans a day. That'll continue to grow. It'll continue to accelerate[.] ...

DR. BIRX: It is disappointing to me right now that we have about 500,000 capacity of Abbott tests that are not being utilized. So they are out. They're in the states. They're not being run and not utilized.

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