Good News Around Corona Virus On Friday Everyone Missed!

· On Friday FDA announced an emergency authorization of a Roche Holding AG test that can screen patients much faster than all existing options.

· The biggest impact of these tests would be that it would help catch up on the all the tests which are on queue currently.

· What very few have realized that our inability to test enough people fast enough has led to an outbreak that is likely to spin out of control in the weeks to come. If that happens then we won’t be able to contain things any time soon.

· More than lab tests we need “serologic tests” and “on-site diagnostics” which can play a crucial role in helping to better estimate the size of the problem (outbreak) and exercise necessary control to prevent the spread.

· Serologic diagnostics allow extensive testing of samples from people who aren’t confirmed COVID-19 cases.

· The best thing is that If people have been exposed and have developed antibodies against the virus, such tests will let health officials in frontline know much faster.

· This is invaluable information in the fight against a disease that is mild or asymptomatic in many people.

· It will bring some key KPIs to limelight in addition to giving a better sense of how many cases we’re missing and COVID-19’s true fatality rate, it could also identify areas where it is spreading more quietly and help direct needed response.

· Centres for Disease Control Director Robert Redfield recently told a Congressional committee that his agency has two tests of this type in development.

· This fast deployment is critical piece around the globe as there simply isn’t any reliable information on where we stand at any time and where the disease is and how many people have it.

· Another important step would involve moving testing capabilities out of the lab and into doctors’ offices.

· Ideally, providers should be able to order and run tests rapidly on site similar to the flu instead of sending them off to an overtaxed lab and lowering risk of infection

· An accurate and quick test of this type would mean that fewer people are left hanging in limbo about their actual infection status, expediting isolation, monitoring, and treatment efforts.

· People could be diagnosed in a far broader array of settings, lowering the risk of further spread of infection and keeping them out of hospitals that could spend more of their time totally focused to severe cases.

· A wider range of diagnostics would enable more targeted monitoring and reduce the need for blanket travel bans and other economically harmful containment measures. We hope that all support would get these tests approved and distributed quickly.

So in summary the approach is in a good direction and agility around diagnosis will get us ahead of things while we’re still only in the early stages of this outbreak.