From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: CARES Act November 2020 Report - Director Summary Description: GAO's Nikki Clowers discusses our November report on the federal pandemic response, which describes the status of ongoing efforts and outlines ways to improve the response and prepare for future challenges. Key findings discuss medical supply shortages, changes in CDC guidance on COVID-19 testing, unemployment insurance estimates, and more. Related GAO Works: GAO-21-191, COVID-19: Urgent Actions Needed to Better Ensure an Effective Federal Response Released: November 2020 [ Nikki Clowers : ] Hi! My name is Nikki Clowers, and I'm Managing Director of GAO's Health Care Team. Here at GAO, we've been monitoring and reviewing the federal response to COVID-19. Today, we issue a new report on our latest findings and recommendations to improve this response. Among other things, we found that the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services provide little scientific explanation for changing key COVID-testing guidelines--such as whether asymptomatic individuals should get tested after being exposed to the virus. We also raised concerns about vaccine distribution and the need for providing transparent information about vaccines and therapeutics in order to improve public confidence in this effort. And while states and territories nationwide reported that many medical supply requests are being filled, we identified continuing shortages in some testing and medical supplies, and most states reported certain PPE supplies, such as nitrile gloves, remained scarce. Finally, among other things, we identified inaccuracies the Labor Department's estimates of individuals actually claiming unemployment, which could impact the government's ability to understand the economic role of these benefits during the pandemic. We made recommendations to address these issues. We will continue monitoring this response and providing updates to Congress and the public. Go to GAO.gov to find out more