A faster PCR Covid-19 test for everyone?

In addition to Covid case counts, the need for testing has skyrocketed since the arrival of the omicron variant. With demand outpacing supply throughout most of December and January, labs nation wide have struggled to keep up. Dwayne Breining, MD, executive director of Northwell Health Labs, shares how his team was able to double their testing capacity using a new technology called LabGold. He explores how this highly reliable, low-cost testing platform — capable of processing up to 100,000 specimens per day — could help labs across the country quickly scale when facing a public health crisis like Covid-19.

Chapters

01:37 - Doubling Covid testing capacity

02:47 - Distinguishing omicron from delta

03:57 - Expanding access to Covid testing

06:24 - Developing "LabGold"

07:42 - A self-swab PCR test

09:55 - A new, scalable Covid test 

11:42 - A national strategy

15:11 - Omicron's long tail

16:30 - Testing in pro sports