Fighting COVID-19: The Medical Laboratory Involvement

Abstract

The coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) virus has infected many people across the globe. The health system particularly medical laboratory has been overwhelmed by the pandemic, and many health professionals including medical laboratory professionals have lost their lives during the fight against the virus. Medical laboratory science is the bedrock of medical practice and the role of medical laboratory science in containing the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be overemphasized as they are also behind the testing of clinical specimens from infected and any recovered patients. As disease detectives, Medical laboratory scientists and other medical laboratory professionals’ role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic include; diagnosis, monitoring, development of vaccines, testing protocols, testing kits, offering advice to the guide government policy on containment of the virus.: Various methods and techniques such as virological cell culture, genomic sequencing, amplification, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) /gene Xpert systems, immunological testing, biosensors and rapid diagnostic techniques (RDTs) have been employed towards discovery, testing and epidemiology since the onset of COVID-19. The medical laboratory workers and other health workers are so visible at the COVID-19 frontline and are being recognized and applauded for the role played in the recovery of patients affected with the virus. The medical laboratory component is very germane in the COVID-19 vaccine research and vaccination so as to provide pre- and post-vaccination laboratory data.