Multiple times a day, even multiple times an hour, we’re hearing new information about COVID-19. Some of the most common questions I’ve received have to do with testing. We had our first case of novel coronavirus the same day South Korea had its first case. Yet they are much further ahead of us when it comes to testing, something that has helped them quickly control the virus in a way we haven’t been able to do in the US. They also rapidly took on measures like quarantining and tracing the transmission of the virus.

Of course, there are so many different components that go into successful testing and quelling a pandemic of this size. Today on The Doctor’s Farmacy, I hope to shed some light on those with my guest Dr. Steven Kleiboeker. Throughout our conversation, we cover who should be tested, when, and how, and what kinds of tests are currently available or soon will be. He is the Vice President of Research and Development for Viracor, and is responsible for the scientific direction and oversight of the company's research and development programs as well as the BioPharma and Clinical Trial Biomarker Services research services. Dr. Kleiboeker is board certified as a high-complexity laboratory director, technical supervisor, and clinical consultant by the American Board of Bioanalysis. Over his career, he has published more than 60 scientific manuscripts and serves on editorial boards and as a reviewer for several virological and microbiological journals.

*For context, this interview was recorded on March 31, 2020.

Here are more of the details from our interview: 

• What we know today about coronavirus, how and when is it transmittable, and why good hygiene is so important as a protective measure (2:29)

• The difference between the South Korean and American responses to initial cases, which were both reported on the same day (5:33)

• Issues with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s initial COVID-19 tests and testing protocol (7:53)

• The COVID-19 test that is currently approved for use (the RT-PCR test), what exactly it tests for, and why there is variation in how long it takes to get test results back (9:47)

• Issues with scaling-up the supply chain for all necessary components of coronavirus testing (13:53)

• The current approach to coronavirus testing and how it differs from what testing would look like in a perfect world (21:03)

• The roll out of coronavirus antibody testing, what antibody tests tell us, and can you get COVID-19 more than once? (28:46)

• What we could learn from quantitative testing, or knowing the viral load that an individual is carrying  (33:25)

• What should you do if you have COVID-19 symptoms? (36:29)

• Is it too late to do extensive testing to stop and slow the spread of COVID-19? (42:49)

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