What Roll Has USDA Played In The COVID-19 Fight

Did you know the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has played a critical scientific roll in the battle against COVID-19.

"Those animal disease laboratories in many cases have the capabilities that were necessary to provide testing of human samples for Coronavirus," said USDA Under Secretary Greg Ibach. "And so we made those resources known to the task force. In some cases, some of those labs were utilized to do human testing as well as our normal load of day to day animal tests that we conducted for disease surveillance or diagnosis."

Ibach added USDA labs with cold storage could play a role in efficacy of some of the coronavirus vaccines soon to be released. USDA research facilities have also played a role in determining if COVID-19 might impact animals.

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