Pooling Coronavirus Tests Can Spare Scarce Supplies, But There's A Catch

Federal health officials are hoping to stretch the supplies used to test for the coronavirus by combining samples from a number of people and running a single test. Chinese health officials used that strategy to rapidly test large populations in Wuhan and Beijing. The technique, called pooled testing, won't resolve the testing bottlenecks in the United States.

As the demand for coronavirus testing rises in the United States, federal health officials are working to use testing materials in the most efficient way possible. Through the use of pooled testing, officials are hoping to stretch the supplies used to test by combining samples from multiple people and running a single test. The idea behind this method is that if the sample comes back negative, one can assume all of the original samples are negative, and thus save testing equipment. This strategy has been proven successful in rapidly testing large populations in Wuhan and Beijing. The FDA is currently developing guidelines for this practice.