Illinois Congresswoman Cheri Bustos says there continues to be a disconnect between Washington D.C. and Illinois on the availability of COVID-19 test kits.
The Democrat says she was recently on a call with Vice President Mike Pence and national health experts Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx.
Bustos says they indicated they were doing “great” on getting test kits out.
But in a White House briefing this week, Dr. Birx claimed the testing companiesaren’t running at capacity.
“What’s happening in actuality is that in Illinois because Abbott Labs is based in Illinois and that’s the machinery to do the testing, we don’t have a shortage of the machinery, we have a shortage of the tests,” Bustos said.
Meanwhile, Bustos praisedJohn Deere’s recent move to manufacture face shields for frontline workers.
The 17th District representative says reaching older adults continues to be a priority. This week, Bustos partnered with Peoria City/County Health Department Medical Director Dr. Gregg Stoner for a telephone town hall to address concerns from seniors.
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