In a recent webinar hosted by Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific, Professor Aw Tar Choon, Senior Consultant at the Department of Laboratory Medicine at Singapore’s Changi General Hospital, shares key updates on COVID-19 testing, including the growing array of rapid tests that provide quick return on results.

Prof Aw explores the viral kinetics of SARS-CoV-2, which are important for determining when and how to apply traditional PCR-based methods, as opposed to antigen and serology tests. He notes that PCR testing remains the standard for determining active infections, but that rapid antigen tests are increasingly viable as a fast and low-cost alternative to PCR in certain situations, such as low-resource settings where affordability is an issue or emergency departments where fast results are critical.

Prof Aw also examines the advantages of dual testing strategies that combine PCR and antibody tests. He provides important details on the differences between various testing systems, including sensitivity/specificity, limit of detection and cycle thresholds, as well as the implications of these differences from both a clinical and scientific perspective. He also presents key considerations around sampling and pooled testing strategies.