The global inequity of COVID-19 diagnostics : challenges and opportunities
Abstract
Diagnostics for COVID-19 have advanced at an unprecedented pace over the last two years. Testing is a critical pillar of pandemic control, and is required for epidemiological tracking, treatment, and surveillance. Despite high quality SARS-CoV-2 viral diagnostic capability, there are vast global inequities in access. The Virology, Immunology, and Diagnostics Working Group(WG) of the COVID-19 Clinical Research Coalition (CRC) brings together experts in immunology, infectious diseases, and microbiology to advocate for equity-based COVID-19 research, prioritising solutions driven by communities in low-income and lower middle-income countries (LMICs).1 This commentary shares the unique perspective of the WG on the asymmetry in COVID-19 diagnostic access between low-income and high-income settings, the barriers to these disparities, and highlights opportunities to remedy these inequities.
Citation
Narayanasamy , S , Okware , B , Muttamba , W , Patel , K , Duedu , K O , Ravi , N , Ellermeier , N , Shey , M , Woods , C W , Sabiiti , W & COVID-19 Clinical Research Coalition, Virology, Immunology, and Diagnostics Working Group 2022 , ' The global inequity of COVID-19 diagnostics : challenges and opportunities ' , Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health , vol. Early . https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2022-219333
Publication
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0143-005XType
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. This work has been made available online in accordance with publisher policies or with permission. Permission for further reuse of this content should be sought from the publisher or the rights holder. This is the author created accepted manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2022-219333.
Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.