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