How COVID testing can halt infections and inform research on variants

COVID testing slacked over the summer. At-home COVID tests are costly and hard to find.We speak about the continued need for testing with Stephen Thomas, director of the Maryland Center for Health Equity in the University of Maryland School of Public Health, and Dr. Adena Greenbaum, assistant commissioner of the Bureau of Clinical Services for the Baltimore City Health Department. Learn more about the HAIR campaign - Health Advocates In-Reach and Research. Then, Luke Tallon, of UMaryland Genomics at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, describes how variant COVID strains are analyzed. He says testing is integral, “Encouraging broader testing would have a very positive impact not just on understanding these variants of concern but on understanding community spread." Learn more about UMSOM's genomic sequencing work here. Resources:Testing sites in Baltimore City COVID Vaccination Clinics in Baltimore City Find a vaccination clinic near you Find a testing site near youDo you have a question or comment about a show or a story idea to pitch? Contact On the Record at: Senior Supervising Producer, Maureen Harvie she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1903 Senior Producer, Melissa Gerr she/her/hers [email protected] 410-235-1157 Producer Sam Bermas-Dawes he/him/his [email protected] 410-235-1472