
That concerted approach has spun out some surprising applications of technology better known in other spheres. “There’s a realisation of the obligation to put commercial interests behind the interests of public health - it’s been pleasant to see the community rallying together.” “The urgent need to provide routine assessable testing has, I think, inspired the entire scientific community to deploy their precious assets and resources to this problem,” Terrill tells me, as we discuss how science has innovated in defiance of coronavirus. That is putting additional demands on IDT.” Science as a candle in the dark, collaboration and CRISPRĪlthough those demands are often strenuous, Terrill is proud of how the scientific community has come together this year - putting public health at the forefront. “With the onset of the flu season, many testing labs are attempting to test for flu and COVID simultaneously. Among them are the Charité-Berlin protocol and the Luminex SARS-CoV-2 assay, which IDT also offers primers and probes for.Īs we approach winter in the Northern hemisphere, the spectre of another disease looms large on the horizon - throwing yet another spanner in the already encumbered works. Terrill explains that the challenge now is continuing to respond to what has become a “steady state of demand for COVID-19 products.” Along with the CDC-approved testing protocol, the FDA has also licensed numerous other kits, all requiring DNA synthesis. Since that first meeting with the CDC, IDT massively scaled up production, creating a team that could formulate those primers and probes together so that they were reaction ready and ship them around the US, to provide 52 million CDC-approved tests as of November 2. As such self-collected specimens from SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals may yield negative results if the specimen was not collected properly.An extraordinary year has called for extraordinary feats. Specimens that are self-collected will not be tested with an internal control to confirm that the specimen was properly collected. Persistent pain or pressure in the chest.

Regardless of your risk status, if you are experiencing any of the following emergency warning signs for COVID-19, it is recommended that you immediately seek emergency care:


Infection has been detected globally and in all 50 states. Infection with the virus can range from being asymptomatic to life-threatening respiratory illness. This test is for use by persons 18+ who are not experiencing severe symptoms.ĬOVID-19 is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
