Health Diagnostics
Post categorized under: Health Diagnostics
All too often in the conversation COVID-19 testing, two factors are lost: Pragmatism and Cost. Our Microarray platform can deliver highly effective Pooled Surveillance at a dramatically lower cost than individual testing and we are the proven alternative in Variant Identification—results in a fraction of the time and cost of NGS. The world is coming around to our way of thinking.
- What to Know About New SARS-CoV-2 Subvariant BA.5
BA.5, the newest COVID-19 subvariant of the Omicron family comes with a new problem. It is more contagious and appears to be both vaccine and immunity resistant, meaning even those who have had COVID before are not protected. Even if you’ve had Omicron recently, you’re not going to get that Get Out of Jail Free card that we’ve all been relying on the past two years.
- Officials arrested in COVID-19 testing kits scandal
Vietnam’s health minister and the mayor of Hanoi were removed from their posts and arrested this week after being accused of playing a part in a COVID-19 test kit scandal. Tied to a long-running price-fixing investigation, Viet A Technology Corporation is accused by the authorities of marking up the price of kits to detect the virus. Kits were marked up by as much as 45%.
- Misuse of home COVID-19 could lead to viral spread
Currently 90% of tests are over the counter, and maybe 10% are lab-based PCR tests when attempting to detect COVID-19. Yes, home tests give quick results. Just one problem with those quick results: they can be wrong, especially if the tests are used too early in an infection.
- COVID-19 testing plunges dramatically
Testing has dropped 70% to 90% worldwide from the first to the second quarter of this year — the opposite of what they say should be happening with new SARS-CoV-2 Clade Variants like Omicron on the rise in places such as the United States and South Africa. As testing plummets, it becomes much tougher for scientists to track the course of the pandemic and spot new, worrisome viral mutants as they emerge and spread.
- COVID-19 tests can be used past expiration date
Like food and medications, rapid COVID-19 tests expire—but figuring out when they go bad isn’t easy. With some manufacturers and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) extending the expiration date of COVID-19 tests, some people are sceptical. Since rapid tests are relatively new products, companies are collecting much of that data in real time—meaning their expiration dates can and do change.
- WHO urges countries to keep up COVID-19 testing
The World Health Organization said Wednesday it’s increasingly concerned at the reduction in COVID-19 testing, surveillance and overall monitoring among its member countries, reminding the public that COVID-19 and emerging variants are still circulating at high levels.
- Shanghai locked down for mass COVID-19 testing
China began locking down most of its largest city of Shanghai on Monday as a coronavirus outbreak surges and amid questions about the economic toll of the nation’s “zero-COVID” strategy. Reminiscent of 2020, COVID-19 panic buying was reported on Sunday, with supermarket shelves cleared of food, beverages and household items.
- Boston positive COVID-19 test rate concerns
The city’s coronavirus test positivity rate currently sits at 6.2%, which is above the agency’s “threshold of concern” of 5%. It’s also nearly three times higher than the 2.2% test positivity rate recorded one month ago. According to CDC data, SARS-CoV-2 variant BA.2 makes up more than 90% of cases that have undergone genome sequencing in New England.
- New Hampshire to Close State-Run COVID-19 Testing Sites Next Week
New Hampshire officials are closing all of the state’s fixed COVID-19 testing sites next week. The state-run locations in Belmont, Claremont, Keene, Lincoln, Manchester, Nashua and Newington will close at 3 p.m. on March 15. In a statement, Gov. Chris Sununu called the move a “significant milestone.”
- Demand for COVID-19 Testing is Falling, but Experts Caution it’s as Important as Ever
Out of the long-awaited 500 million free at-home Covid-19 tests the Biden administration has made available, fewer than 300 million have been ordered. For one, cases are coming down, and demand is simply starting to fade.
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