Piloting an external quality assurance program (QAP) for COVID-19 antigen rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs): findings and lessons learned from Cambodia by Vonthanak Saphonn, John Kaldor, Deborah Williamson, Sothavireak Bory, Philip Cunningham, Jessica Markby, Kennarey Seang, Jacqueline Prestedge, Chan Leakhena Phoeung, Marilyn Ninan, Kanika Heng, Andrew Valley

“…Rapid antigen diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) that quickly and accurately identify SARS-CoV-2 are an essential part of the COVID-19 response, but multiple factors can affect the validity of Ag-RDTs results. …”
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Diagnostic Performance of SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Antigen Test in relation to RT-PCR Cq Value by Dipendra Kumar Mandal, Bibek Raj Bhattarai, Sushant Pokhrel, Mandira Chhusyabaga, Parmananda Bhandari, Mahendra Prasad Bhatt, Sujan Babu Marhattha

“…Thus, this study aims to establish rapid antigen tests as an effective diagnostic tool to improve the testing strategies of COVID-19 diagnosis. …”
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Clinical Performance of Rapid Antigen Tests for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in the Emergency Department and Community: A Retrospective Study by Pei-Chin Lin, Hung-Pin Chiu, Fang-Yi Cheng, Chih-Chun Chang, Fang-Yeh Chu

“…Patients who underwent SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen tests using the VTRUST COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test (TD-4531) and real-time RT-PCR on the same day in the ED or community from May 24, 2021, to June 24, 2021, were examined. …”
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Plant-Based Antigen Production Strategy for SARS-CoV-2 Nucleoprotein and RBD and Its Application for Detection of Antibody Responses in COVID-19 Patients by Katerina Takova, Valeria Tonova, Ivan Minkov, Eugenia S. Mardanova, Nikolai V. Ravin, Stanislav Kotsev, Maria Pishmisheva, Gergana Zahmanova

“…In this regard, low-cost and fast production of immunogenic antigens is essential for the rapid development of diagnostic serological kits. …”
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Laboratory capacity-building during COVID-19 in Somalia: improving access to essential diagnostics for national health security in a fragile setting by Salvador Figuereo, Sahra Isse Mohamed, Desalegn Takele, Abdulrahman M. Sheikh, Solomon Chane Abera, Ayni Muhiadin Mohamed, Mutaawe Lubogo, Hassan Mukhtar Abukar, Mary Joan Karanja, Sulaiman Bangura, Antoine Abou Fayad, Ali Haji Adam, Abdinasir Yusuf Osman, Sk Md Mamunur Rahman Malik

“…At the same time, other innovative solutions were used for testing, such as repurposing tuberculosis GeneXpert diagnostic platforms to increase access to testing at points-of-care and introducing antigen rapid diagnostic tests for hard-to-reach communities. …”
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Evaluation of the diagnostic accuracy of two point-of-care tests for COVID-19 when used in symptomatic patients in community settings in the UK primary care COVID diagnostic accura... by Brian D Nicholson, Philip J Turner, Thomas R Fanshawe, Alice J Williams, Gayatri Amirthalingam, Sharon Tonner, Maria Zambon, Richard Body, Kerrie Davies, Rafael Perera, Simon de Lusignan, Gail N Hayward, F D Richard Hobbs, RAPTOR-C19 Study Group and the CONDOR Steering Committee

“…Participants were tested by trained healthcare workers using at least one of two index POCTs (Roche-branded SD Biosensor Standard™ Q SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Antigen Test and/or BD Veritor™ System for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2). …”
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Evaluation of serum amylase and lipase in diagnosed Covid-19 survivors in a North Indian Hospital, Lucknow, India by Nabeela Usmani, Mukhtar Ahmad, Saba Khan, Mohammad Mustufa Khan, Haseeb Ahsan, Sadaf Parveen, Roshan Alam

“…Two groups of subjects (70 adults consisting of 35 Covid-19 survivors and 35 controls) aged between 35 to 70 years were selected for the study with mild to moderate Covid-19 diagnosed using RT-PCR/rapid antigen test and a control group of healthy individuals without history of Covid-19. …”
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Effectiveness of Frequent Point-of-Care Molecular COVID-19 Surveillance in a Rural Workplace: Nonrandomized Controlled Clinical Trial Among Miners by Akshay Sood, William “Cotton” Jarrell, Xin W Shore, Nestor Sosa, Alisha Parada, Nicholas Edwardson, Alexandra V Yingling, Teah Amirkabirian, Qiuying Cheng, Ivy Hurwitz, Linda S Cook, Shuguang Leng, Orrin B Myers, Douglas J Perkins

“…Investigators performed point-of-care rapid antigen testing on midnasal swabs (NSs) self-collected by intervention miners. …”
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Evaluating the controlled reopening of nightlife during the COVID-19 pandemic: a matched cohort study in Sitges, Spain, in May 2021 (Reobrim Sitges) by Mercè Marzo-Castillejo, Joan Colom, Betlem Salvador-González, Josep Basora, Oriol Cunillera Puértolas, Sara Contreras-Martos, Darío López Gallegos, Mateo Acedo Anta, Jesús Almeda Ortega

“…To attend the event, participants were required to be older than 17 years, with a negative rapid antigen diagnostic test (Ag-RDT) on the same afternoon, without a positive reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR) or Ag-RDT and/or symptoms associated with COVID-19 in the previous 7 days, to not having knowingly been in close contact with someone infected in the previous 10 days and to not have knowingly had close contact with someone with a suspicion of COVID-19 in the previous 48 hours. …”
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CoviWall, a whole-virion-inactivated B.1.617.2 vaccine candidate, induces potent humoral and Th1 cell response in mice and protects against B.1.617.2 strain challenge in Syrian ham... by Jyotsna Dandotiya, Neeta Adhikari, Manas Ranjan Tripathy, Manas Ranjan Tripathy, Kamini Jakhar, Sudipta Sonar, Dibya Ranjan Pati, Vibhu Kanchan, Varsha S. Prasad, Jitendra Kumar, Nitesh K. Senapati, Arti Bharmoria, Neeraj Rani, Monika Lakhanpal, CS. Patil, Nishan Singh, Lovely Khan, Lavit Jambu, Naveen K. Jain, Syed Khalid Ali, Priyanka Priyadarsiny, Amulya K. Panda, Rajesh Jain, Shailendra Mani, Sweety Samal, Amit Awasthi, Amit Awasthi, Zaigham Abbas Rizvi, Zaigham Abbas Rizvi

“…Rapid development of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines and antiviral drugs have significantly reduced morbidity and mortality worldwide. …”
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