马里兰州安纳波利斯——马里兰州州长拉里·霍根(Larry Hogan)的政府去年从一家韩国公司购买了50万次新冠肺炎测试，未能遵守州采购条例，美国美国食品药品监督管理局周五发布的一份州审计报告称，第一批测试后来不得不额外花费250万美元进行替换。
去年春天，当全国各州争先恐后地进行测试时，马里兰州的购买最初受到了极大的关注，但随着时间的推移，州议员们开始就保密协议提出问题，并要求进行审计。
审计称，最终为实验室基因组学测试和运送测试的包机支付了约1200万美元，但这些资金没有得到包含州法规要求的任何关键条款的正式书面合同或协议的支持。
立法审计员格雷戈里·胡克写道:“缺乏全面的书面合同妨碍了有效的监督。”。“我们也没有收到关于其他供应商被考虑的程度，或者参与实验室基因组学评估和选择的特定方的全面书面文件。”
审计称，对现有记录的审查表明，该州没有确保去年4月18日和4月22日收到的测试在由实验室基因组公司装运之前得到了FDA的授权。
马里兰州综合服务部和州卫生部的参谋长在对审计的回应中写道，在购买测试时，FDA的紧急使用授权正在等待批准。
“这种前所未有的紧急情况需要调整现有的做法，以确保马里兰州能够满足这种紧急情况的需要，并且不受从未以如此非凡的方式测试过的做法的限制，”DGS的参谋长埃里克·隆博伊和卫生部的参谋长托马斯·安德鲁斯写道。
伦博伊和安德鲁斯补充说，他们认为审计人员的审查方式似乎是马里兰大会立法审计办公室制作了一份“仓促且受政治驱动的报告，暗示得出了可疑的结论，而没有考虑到审查主题的实际情况。”
但批评该交易和缺乏透明度的议员们表示，审计证实，他们有理由感到担忧。
医生参议员克拉伦斯·林(Clarence Lam)在一份声明中说:“因为国家仓促行事，没有签订书面合同，纳税人不仅要再花250万美元来换取第一批测试，以换取一套可以使用的新测试，而且导致了几个月的延误，实际上可能会导致生命损失。”
这位州参议员还指出，一项审查对第一批测试的可靠性提出了质疑。
共和党人霍根(Hogan)最初在州长官邸草坪上举行的一次高度公开的新闻发布会上宣布了第一笔采购，当时各州正在努力寻找测试。霍根在韩国出生的妻子白纬玲在帮助谈判测试中发挥了重要作用。
但是随着时间的推移，没有使用测试，立法者开始提问并要求审计。在政府悄悄地注意到该州不得不花费250万美元来替换最初的一批测试之后，立法者批评了这个过程中缺乏透明度。该州为第一批支付了900万美元。
质疑采购的民主党参议员保罗·平斯基(Paul Pinsky)注意到审计中关于两名州雇员的发现，他们在对测试提出担忧后被解雇。虽然监管官员告诉审计人员，其中一项解雇完全是由于不相关的绩效问题，但审计人员表示，这没有员工人事档案中的书面文件支持。
“整件事，闻起来好极了，”平斯基说。
平斯基还注意到审计员的一项调查结果，即以464，369美元的费用包租一架飞机进行第一次测试，而以14，265美元的费用运送第二次测试，这是没有根据的。
霍根和第一夫人一起出现在韩国航空公司的停机坪上，该公司向巴尔的摩/华盛顿国际瑟古德马歇尔国际机场交付了第一批测试。
平斯基说:“我们花了46.4万美元让他在机场拍照，这太不可思议了。”
Maryland audit faults procurement of 500K virus tests
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's administration failed to follow state procurement regulations when it bought 500,000 COVID-19 tests from a South Korean company last year, and the first batch of tests that later had to be replaced at an additional $2.5 million cost had not been authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a state audit released Friday said.
Maryland's purchase had initially been met with great fanfare last spring when states across the country scrambled to secure tests, but state lawmakers started asking questions after time went by about the confidential deal and asked for an audit.
About $12 million was ultimately paid for the LabGenomics tests and for a chartered flight to ship them, but those funds were not supported by formal written contracts or agreements containing any of the critical provisions required by state regulations, the audit said.
"The lack of a comprehensive written contract precluded effective monitoring," Gregory Hook, the legislative auditor, wrote. “We also were not provided with comprehensive written documentation of the extent to which other vendors were considered, or of the specific parties involved in the evaluation and selection of LabGenomics.”
The audit said a review of available records indicated the state did not ensure that the tests received on April 18 and April 22 last year were authorized by the FDA prior to them being shipped by LabGenomics.
The chiefs of staff to the Maryland Department of General Services and the state health department wrote in a response to the audit that at the time the tests were purchased, an emergency use authorization with the FDA was pending.
“The unprecedented nature of the emergency required adapting existing practices to assure that Maryland was able to meet the needs of this emergency and was not restrained by practices that had never been tested in such an extraordinary way,” wrote Eric Lomboy, the chief of staff for DGS and Thomas Andrews, the chief of staff for the health department.
Lomboy and Andrews added that they thought the review by auditors was conducted in a way that gave the appearance the Maryland General Assembly’s Office of Legislative Audits produced a "rushed and politically-driven report implying dubious conclusions reached without regard to the actual circumstances surround the subjects of the Review.”
But lawmakers who have been critical of the deal and a lack of transparency said the audit confirmed they had reason to be concerned.
“Because the State rushed the process and failed to have a written contract, taxpayers were not only left on the hook for another $2.5 million just to exchange the initial batch of tests for a new set of tests that could be used, but it led to months of delay that might have actually cost lives,” Sen. Clarence Lam, who is a physician, said in a statement.
The state senator also noted that a review raised questions about the reliability of the first batch of tests.
Hogan, a Republican, initially announced the first procurement at a highly publicized news conference on the lawn of the governor’s residence at a time when states were struggling to find tests. Hogan’s Korean-born wife Yumi was instrumental in helping to negotiate for the tests.
But as time passed without tests being used, lawmakers began asking questions and asked for the audit. After the administration quietly noted that the state had to spend $2.5 million to replace the initial batch of tests, lawmakers criticized a lack of transparency in the process. The state paid $9 million for the first batch.
Sen. Paul Pinsky, a Democrat who has questioned the procurement, noted findings in the audit about two state employees who were fired after they raised concerns about the tests. While supervisory officials told auditors that one of the terminations was due solely to unrelated performance issues, the audit said that wasn't supported by written documentation in the employee's personnel file.
“The whole thing, it smells to high heaven," Pinsky said.
Pinsky also noted a finding by auditors that there was no support of the basis to charter a flight for the shipment of the first tests at a cost of $464,369 when the second tests were shipped for a cost of $14,265.
Hogan appeared in photographs with the first lady on the tarmac by the Korean Air plane that delivered the first tests to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshal International Airport.
“That we spent $464,000 so he can get a photo op at the airport is unbelievable,” Pinsky said.
