Against the ever-changing landscape of SARS-CoV-2 testing and an emerging need for sample storage, Mark Reed and Charlotte Duncan from Pro-Lab discuss a solution currently being adopted across the UK.
The current global situation with SARS-CoV-2 is perhaps the first experience many readers have had of a pandemic during their scientific careers, be it in the laboratory or in the commercial IVD manufacturing field… it certainly is for us.
SARS-CoV-2 was first detected in the European Region on 24 January 2020.1 In the following 18 weeks the public health and diagnostic landscape both in Europe and globally has changed dramatically.
What has been seen over the past few months is a monumental response from all laboratories in the UK and also from the manufacturers and suppliers of all aspects of the testing algorithms adopted nationally. It has not been a smooth ride in many areas as requirements outstripped availability, not just for sample collection, but also for equipment and reagents. The response from the in vitro diagnostics (IVD) manufacturing and supply industry has been coordinated extremely well, with companies working together towards one common goal to allow for as much testing as possible to be done. The support and advice from the British In Vitro Diagnostics Association (BIVDA) and the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS) has been a great help to all.
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