Instead of pausing testing or warning the public, the state allowed the lab to continue processing patient samples and concealed the risks as problems continued for at least six months and the lab began contracting with schools across the state.
Inspection records confirm whistleblower allegations that:
During the Feb 7th surprise inspection, prompted by the whistleblower complaints, inspectors confirmed the allegations and found problems so egregious that they were forced to notify federal regulators, stating in a notice:
"Because of the seriousness of these deficiencies, your laboratory no longer meets the requirements to perform testing under the Health and Safety Code. Based on the finding of immediate jeopardy, this office has contacted the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and has notified them of our determination of non-compliance.
Two weeks later, CDPH and PerkinElmer claimed the "serious deficiencies" had "long since been resolved." We now know that simply wasn't true.
Not surprisingly, the agency did not issue sanctions against its own lab Monday. Instead, in its summary of the investigation, CDPH concluded, "(t)his blueprint can serve as a model for other states, and the federal government, in how to scale testing."
If it weren't for brave whistleblowers risking their careers in the name of public health, the public may never have learned of these shocking public health failures at California's COVID testing lab.
