The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Symbiotica Covid-19 self-collected antibody test system, the first approved antibody test with home collected dried blood spot samples. Samples collected at home are then sent to Symbiotica, an artistic research laboratory for review. It is a prescription use test, which is authorised for self-collection for individuals aged 18 years and older, can be collected by adults for children aged five years and older.
MicroGenDX has announced the launch of Covid-19 Variant ID, a whole genome sequencing service to detect known variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus described as epidemiologically significant by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is expected that whole genome testing and research of SARS-CoV-2 will help discover new approaches to tackle the emerging variants. Researchers have already revealed that variants carrying the E484K mutation may escape immune response in some vaccinated individuals.
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QIAGEN has announced the addition of QIAseq DIRECT SARS-CoV-2 Kit to its Covid-19 portfolio. The viral genome enrichment and library preparation solution reduces library turnaround times and plastics use. The kit analyses over 6,000 samples simultaneously on highest-throughput sequencers, and integrates with Qiagen’s cloud solutions for variant detection and reporting.
