The CDC denied a request from California and Washington to validate a rapid, high-volume measles test in May, citing "other competing priorities." Health officials from California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington later asked the CDC director to reconsider. Texas state laboratories developed such a test during a measles outbreak in west Texas last year but have not published the protocol.
Where
Statewide
When
May 2026 (request made); October 2026 (denial and reconsideration request)
Sources
Reported by 2 outlets
Taxes and money
None stated in sources.
Who's involved
CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)Declined validation request
Erica SchwartzCDC Director
West Coast Health AllianceRequested validation; sent letter asking CDC to reconsider
Emily HilliardUS Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson
Texas state laboratoriesDeveloped high-throughput measles test during west Texas outbreak
ARUP LaboratoriesPublished high-throughput measles test protocol in Journal of Clinical Microbiology
The facts
California and Washington requested CDC validation of high-throughput measles test in May.12Stated by 2 sources
CDC denied the validation request, citing 'other competing priorities.'12Stated by 2 sources
Health officials from California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington sent letter asking CDC to reconsider.12Stated by 2 sources
Texas state laboratories developed high-throughput measles test during west Texas measles outbreak last year.12Stated by 2 sources
Texas laboratories have not distributed or published the measles test protocol.1
ARUP Laboratories published high-throughput measles test in Journal of Clinical Microbiology in December.12Stated by 2 sources
Who said what
These are statements and claims made by the people involved. They are reported, not verified.
West Coast Health Alliance High-throughput test would dramatically strengthen ability to respond to outbreaks.1
Emily Hilliard, US Department of Health and Human Services CDC is prioritizing emerging technologies to respond to measles outbreak.12
Alliance officials Without mass testing capability, scaling up diagnostics during outbreak will be difficult, affecting patient care.2
Where the sources disagree
Whether CDC has conducted studies of tests from Texas and ARUP CDC conducted studies but not full validation or comprehensive comparison [2]
How they headlined it
The same event, as each outlet put it. Marked words appear in only one outlet's headline.
CDC denies approval for high-volume measles test, citing ‘other priorities’
These outlets were found through Google News headlines. Google decides which outlets appear there, and they lean mostly one way, so this sheet can only be as balanced as the reporting it was built from. Leanings are AllSides Media Bias Ratings.
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