FDA to Expedite Coronavirus Testing as Commissioner Joins Pence’s Task Force

U.S. President Donald Trump listens as Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a news conference at the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Feb. 29, 2020 in Washington. Alex Wong/Getty Images

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has introduced a new policy which would allow specific laboratories to develop and use their own validated COVID-19 screening tests before receiving authorization from the agency, in a bid to accelerate testing capacity in the United States.

The move was announced by the FDA on Feb. 29, as three of four new confirmed coronavirus cases on the West Coast indicated community spread of the virus across the United States.