COVID-19: Do We Have Enough Lab Specialists for Mass Testing?
MAY 12, 2020 | CONTAGION® EDITORIAL STAFF
Segment Description: Rodney E. Rohde, PhD, Chair & Professor of the Clinical Laboratory Science Program at Texas State University discusses the challenges our shortage of medical laboratory specialists creates for the COVID-19 response. Dr. Rohde also describes the unique careers available to medical lab specialists alongside the reasons few medical students are aware of the profession.
The authors of a new commentary published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings explained that while positive results from certain tests can be very helpful, negative COVID-19 diagnostic results may lead to a false sense of security.
The US Food and Drug Administration expanded the existing Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Rutgers Clinical Genomics Laboratory to now include the at-home collection of saliva samples for COVID-19 testing.
The extension of the EUA, originally granted last week, indicates the Spectrum Solutions SDNA-1000 saliva collection can be used for self-collection at home. This is the first and currently only FDA authorization of at-home saliva collection for physician-prescribed COVID-19 testing.
