By Lee Min-cheol, Chief Technology Officer, Seegene Inc.
As scientists put their heads together to stem the still-raging modern day plague, the world was able to witness the mass-rollout of vaccines from major pharmaceuticals, cutting the development period by years.
Take the United Kingdom for instance, the country that first administered vaccines in the world in early December last year. One month after vaccines were administered, that country saw its daily COVID cases shoot up to an all-time high of over 68-thousand. In other words, the COVID-19 vaccine isn't a simple fix to curbing the spread.
The mass rollout of vaccines is just the beginning of the end.
The world is now faced with a greater risk factor: new variant strains.
The more we learn about the characteristics of the new COVID-19 variants, the grimmer things seem to get as it only seems to complicate the battle against the global pandemic.
A more contagious variant of the coronavirus, the P.1, first discovered in Brazil has also made its way to Minnesota in the United States for the first time, only posing more concerns.
The latest report from London is that the B.1.1.7 lineage, more commonly known as the United Kingdom variant, may be deadlier than other versions of the virus, though public health officials stressed there's too much uncertainty around this conclusion.
On top of that, there is no single molecular diagnostic test that can identify mutant variants with a simple nasal swab of samples. So, multiple governments around the world are confirming the COVID positive results via genomic sequencing to identify which variant of the coronavirus has been found in an individual.
This of course requires extra time and effort by the respective governments and medical professionals.
Seegene, one of the leading molecular diagnostic firms that was quick to present its COVID-19 test, has been working to cut the time and effort that's being put into differentiating the COVID variants.
By integrating multiple proprietary technologies, Seegene's upcoming diagnostic test will be able to identify mutant viruses, including those from the United Kingdom and South Africa, and at the same time detect the original strain of the coronavirus, with a single nasal swab of samples.
We all know this is a race against time. However, as long as diagnostic manufacturers like Seegene promptly react to the constantly evolving virus trends, we do have a great chance at winning this battle against COVID-19.
That said, preventing and accurately diagnosing respiratory diseases with molecular diagnostics tests are needed more than ever.
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said, COVID-19 may be with us "forever," becoming an endemic disease.
And yes, many scientists do agree with that assertion that the current pandemic will turn into an "endemic," meaning the virus is ever-present. COVID-19 is currently wreaking havoc across the world, mainly because it's a foreign pathogen to which very few people have immunity.
However as a pathologist myself, I believe that we can all overcome this pandemic together, and eventually prevail against the virus through united efforts of vaccination and precise diagnostics.
As scientists put their heads together to stem the still-raging modern day plague, the world was able to witness the mass-rollout of vaccines from major pharmaceuticals, cutting the development period by years.
Take the United Kingdom for instance, the country that first administered vaccines in the world in early December last year. One month after vaccines were administered, that country saw its daily COVID cases shoot up to an all-time high of over 68-thousand. In other words, the COVID-19 vaccine isn't a simple fix to curbing the spread.
The mass rollout of vaccines is just the beginning of the end.
The world is now faced with a greater risk factor: new variant strains.
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| Lee Min-cheol, Seegene Inc. CTO |
A more contagious variant of the coronavirus, the P.1, first discovered in Brazil has also made its way to Minnesota in the United States for the first time, only posing more concerns.
![[Analysis] Test kit makers' shares seek rebound despite vaccine rollout](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/590K2021013100064_b4fa6bfd29d9f.jpg/dims/resize/84/optimize)
The latest report from London is that the B.1.1.7 lineage, more commonly known as the United Kingdom variant, may be deadlier than other versions of the virus, though public health officials stressed there's too much uncertainty around this conclusion.
On top of that, there is no single molecular diagnostic test that can identify mutant variants with a simple nasal swab of samples. So, multiple governments around the world are confirming the COVID positive results via genomic sequencing to identify which variant of the coronavirus has been found in an individual.
This of course requires extra time and effort by the respective governments and medical professionals.
Seegene, one of the leading molecular diagnostic firms that was quick to present its COVID-19 test, has been working to cut the time and effort that's being put into differentiating the COVID variants.
By integrating multiple proprietary technologies, Seegene's upcoming diagnostic test will be able to identify mutant viruses, including those from the United Kingdom and South Africa, and at the same time detect the original strain of the coronavirus, with a single nasal swab of samples.
We all know this is a race against time. However, as long as diagnostic manufacturers like Seegene promptly react to the constantly evolving virus trends, we do have a great chance at winning this battle against COVID-19.
That said, preventing and accurately diagnosing respiratory diseases with molecular diagnostics tests are needed more than ever.
Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said, COVID-19 may be with us "forever," becoming an endemic disease.
And yes, many scientists do agree with that assertion that the current pandemic will turn into an "endemic," meaning the virus is ever-present. COVID-19 is currently wreaking havoc across the world, mainly because it's a foreign pathogen to which very few people have immunity.
However as a pathologist myself, I believe that we can all overcome this pandemic together, and eventually prevail against the virus through united efforts of vaccination and precise diagnostics.
