"The Biden administration announced Wednesday it is authorizing commercial laboratories to conduct monkeypox tests in an attempt to dramatically expand testing as the United States confronts a record outbreak that experts fear is far larger than the official count of 156 cases.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started shipping test kits to five commercial laboratory companies this week, allowing health providers to order tests from the labs directly by early July. The companies include Quest Diagnostics, Sonic Healthcare, Labcorp, Mayo Clinic Laboratories and Aegis Sciences.

“By dramatically expanding the number of testing locations throughout the country, we are making it possible for anyone who needs to be tested to do so,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a news release."

Fenit Nirappil, Lena H. Sun, and Dan Diamond report for the Washington Post June 22, 2022. [2]