The core of the foundation’s plan is the conscription of laboratory facilities that currently perform other kinds of tests, including university labs and small private labs. The foundation estimates that two-thirds of the nation’s molecular testing capacity is used for other purposes and could be easily redirected.

The report calls for states to oversee this comprehensive mobilization, but the money would come from the federal government, in the form of a fixed $100 fee for each completed test. It estimates the total cost around $100 billion — a huge bargain compared to the economic toll of continuing or recurring economic shutdowns.

Rockefeller also is proposing to create a nonprofit to place bulk orders for needed supplies, backed by a foundation guarantee of payment.

Labs across the country report that they could conduct more tests but for shortages of critical supplies — swabs to gather nasal samples, containers to transport samples, chemicals to test samples. Moreover, a lack of coordination has forced labs to compete for available supplies, creating huge inefficiencies: Some places have plenty of swabs but not enough containers, or containers but not chemicals. Dr. Nirav Shah, the director of Maine’s Center of Disease Control and Prevention, said he would not disclose what kind of testing equipment the state was buying for fear others would hoard necessary supplies.

Vice President Mike Pence called on governors last week to “simply activate” machines sidelined by shortages. This has the quality of putting a man in shackles and then urging him to run. There is a crying need for coordination.

Finally, the Rockefeller report calls on states to hire at least 100,000 people to perform the work of testing and contact tracing. This, too, most likely requires federal funding — and has the virtue of doubling as a jobs program during this period of extremely high unemployment.

All of this, however, falls well short of what is needed. To maintain a more normal level of economic activity, the Rockefeller report says, the United States needs to aim for the capacity to perform 30 million tests every week by the fall.