Category: Laboratory Medicine
No, soaring COVID-19 cases are not due to more testing – they show a surging pandemic
Rather than being an artifact of changes in testing policy, the rise in cases reflects ongoing transmission and serious illness.
Patients admitted to hospital with higher COVID-19 levels more likely to die in next 30 days, UW study finds
Patients who had already made antibodies against the virus on admission tended to have lower virus levels and may do better, the findings suggest..
America Doesn’t Have a Coherent Strategy for Asymptomatic Testing. It Needs One.
The lack of consistent asymptomatic testing guidelines means that from state to state, county to county, a hodgepodge of strategies are being used.
Despite recent CDC advice, Washington state recommends COVID-19 testing of close contacts
People with symptoms of COVID-19 or who have had close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 should make testing their first priority.
Controversial Antigen Tests Could Be Key to Defeating COVID-19
Many say rapid result tests could help fix the nation’s COVID-19 testing shortage — a problem that has hobbled public health efforts to control the virus.
Pooled COVID-19 testing: What is it?
Group testing for coronavirus – called pooled testing – could be the fastest and cheapest way to increase screening nationwide
The Trump Administration Paid Millions for Test Tubes — and Got Unusable Mini Soda Bottles
Washington state, an epicenter of the first outbreak of the virus, got more than 76,000 Fillakit vials from FEMA. None could be used.
At-home screening for ovarian, breast cancers is effective, UW-led study finds
The results indicate that at-home testing is a viable option for women to find out whether they have a propensity for these cancers.
When should you get tested for COVID-19? How do you get tested?
Seattle & King County public health officials recommend that anyone who has COVID-19 symptoms or close contact with someone who has COVID-19 be tested right away.
How scientists use the SARS-CoV-2 genome to track the virus
The coronavirus genome is like a shipping label that lets epidemiologists track where it’s been
What Antibody Studies Can Tell You — and More Importantly, What They Can’t
Coronavirus antibody studies and what they allegedly show have triggered fierce debates. Here Caroline Chen provides some clarity around these crucial surveys.
Washington State to Buy 1M Chinese Test Swabs in Bid to Reopen
If Washington closes the deal, it will mark the second time this week that a state has gone outside the United States to procure testing supplies the federal government has been unable or unwilling to provide.
Analysis: The Real Tragedy Of Not Having Enough COVID-19 Tests
Knowing the result of a test allows rational individual decisions.
Senior community protected in ‘outbreak that didn’t happen’
A study of a COVID-19 outbreak in a Seattle retirement center suggests that with older patients the decision to test should not rely solely on symptoms
Analysis: He Got Tested For Coronavirus. Then Came The Flood Of Medical Bills.
His patient responsibility, according to his insurer, is close to $2,000, and he fears there may be more bills to come.