Interim Guidance for Use of Pooling Procedures in SARS-CoV-2 Diagnostic, Screening, and Surveillance Testing
Jul 29, 2020
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Julia Zigman
The CDC recently released interim guidance for use of pooled testing for COVID-19 screening. Pooled testing, which has long been used to screen blood donations for the presence of HIV or hepatitis, is expected to markedly increase the testing capacity of laboratories authorized to use the technique.
Only a handful of laboratories so far have submitted validation data to the FDA to begin pooling samples. As of July 28th, LabCorp
has received an Emergency Use Authorizations (EUA) from the FDA for pooled testing for COVID-19, and others such as the Stanford Medical Center have received permission to begin while the FDA completes their review.
Julia Zigman is a Program Analyst on the NACCHO HIV, STI, & Viral Hepatitis team. Julia focuses primarily on NACCHO’s Ending the HIV Epidemic portfolio and is a lead staff member for the HIV, STI, and Viral Hepatitis Workgroup. Learn more about these programs here.