regulations emergencies
Can the CDC stop the state of New York from testing for COVID-19?
<p><a href="https://youtu.be/5niIFJ2pyCQ?t=232" rel="nofollow noreferrer">At the end of this video</a> NY Governor, Andrew Cuomo, criticizes the CDC for "not letting" the state of New York and other laboratories test for COVID-19.</p>

<p>What did he mean by that? Does the CDC have some legal authority to prevent the State of New York and other private laboratories from testing for COVID-19?</p>

<p>The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/clia/law-regulations.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">CDC (Centers for Disease Control)</a> and the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/science-research/clinical-trials-and-human-subject-protection/regulations-good-clinical-practice-and-clinical-trials" rel="nofollow noreferrer">FDA (Food and Drug Administration)</a> are both US federal agencies that have overlapping authority over medical testing in the US. In general federal rules prevail over state rules, so yes the CDC can stop the state of New York from testing for COVID-19 if the CDC has not approved the testing protocol.</p>

<p>The primary reason behind the rules is to ensure that any tests provided to the public are reliable. A secondary reason it to ensure that the testing development process followed guidelines on medical ethics. There is a set of procedures for <a href="https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/mcm-legal-regulatory-and-policy-framework/emergency-use-authorization" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Emergency Use Authorization</a>, but there have been widespread complaints that even that process has grown too cumbersome and time consuming.</p>

<p>There has been more extensive coverage of the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/10/us/coronavirus-testing-delays.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">CDC and FDA stopping/delaying testing in Washington state</a>.</p>
