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.