COVID-19 Testing: What New Mexico Did Right

Unlike many other states across America that struggled to get enough diagnostic tests for coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) this past spring, New Mexico was able to not only meet the demand for testing symptomatic patients, but was able to begin expanding its screening to asymptomatic individuals. How did this largely rural and relatively low-income state-among the bottom five states in population density [1] and median income per capita [2] -stay on top of testing when larger and wealthier states fell behind? The answer lies in both centralization and diversification.