Dr. Stephen M. Hahn was sworn in as the 24th Commissioner of Food and Drugs on December 17, 2019. Hahn is a physician, scientist and health care leader with an extensive background in patient care, academic research and executive leadership. Prior to joining the FDA, Hahn served as the chief medical executive at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion articles at CNN.

(CNN) With the spread of the coronavirus around the world, America's health care system faces its greatest challenge in decades. In response to this national emergency, President Donald Trump is utilizing the authority and resources of the federal government to protect the American people. President Trump has empowered the FDA to provide flexibility to those in the private sector who are stepping up by manufacturing critical medical products and distributing food supplies.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn

I am proud to lead the US Food and Drug Administration, which plays an indispensable role in the American health care system and in our country's response to the coronavirus pandemic. We work every day to ensure the safety and effectiveness of drugs, vaccine and medical devices that the American people use to stay healthy. Our oversight of medical products facilitates America's dynamic and innovative medical research and development, which has changed our country and our world for the better.

In the fight against the coronavirus, the FDA is providing maximum flexibility across all of our regulatory areas to reduce red tape while still maintaining our gold standard for safety and effectiveness. The FDA does not develop tests -- that's up to the private sector and other federal government partners, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In a public health emergency, we have tools that Congress granted us to help us review tests quickly. And during this emergency, what we have done is offer different pathways to bring these tests to market so they are available to patients.

We are quickly authorizing the tests that developers send us -- most in 24 hours, including Abbott's test, which can deliver results in minutes. We are reviewing these applications around the clock and more than 230 test developers have chosen this pathway to date. We've also issued a policy offering flexible processes, meaning more than 110 labs and test developers across the country did not have to wait for the FDA to review their tests before patient testing -- they only needed to confirm the tests work.