I thought we needed at least a little humor in the midst of this god-awful pandemic.
Most of us know that rather than buy exisiting COVID-19 testing kits, the CDC insisted on making their own. They were flawed and they had to remake them. No one — hospitals, health departments, states have enough testing kits.
Meanwhile in mid-January in South Korea, Chun Jong-yoon CEO, Seegene, a molecular biotech company began developing a test kit for COVID-19. This was before the virus had been named and before SK had any cases. South Korea now has thousands of cases because they have done aggressive testing, which the US has failed to do, egregiously.
Seegene used their super computer,artificial intelligence data system to develop a test in only weeks. Their 1st kit was ready February 5th. South Korea, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (KCDC) approved the kit ONLY 1 week later, miraculously fast. Obviously they took the COVID-19 crisis seriously compared to another country — you know who.
Later in February after South Korea was at a crisis level, Chun Jong-yoon ceased all their other company work, and made their testing kits exclusively to the point that even scientists were working on an assembly line. Everyone pitched in and did what was necessary.
Other nations now want this kit. They are making 10,000 kits/week and each kit can test 100 patients.
The company has three months' worth of stock of other test kits, so it can meet demand for its preexisting orders for a month or two. But Chun said it was important for the company to continue making coronavirus test kits -- and the need goes beyond financial gains. "We have to be providing or contributing one way or the other to figure it out as soon as possible. That's why (we supply to) the whole world," he says.
The Seegene kit is automated, NOT manual, can test 3 genes and multiple samples at a time, which makes a HUGE difference in the number of people who can be tested quickly.
Rather than a human mixing the solutions, the samples are instead put into a diagnostic machine. Inside the machine, a robot arm pipettes the solution and mixes the liquids on a number of tests at once. According to Chun, this method takes only four hours to test samples from 94 patients -- four times faster than the manual method. It also reduces the risk of human error or contamination.
snip
There are three genes that can be tested for to confirm coronavirus -- and Seegene's kits are able to test for all three genes in one tube, said Chun. That's not necessarily the case for all test kits. Chun believes if the United States had access to Seegene's system, the country could test 1 million patients a week. But for now, the US doesn't have the test -- it doesn't have approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
While I understand the necessity of FDA vetting, it would seem that a test developed by scientists and vetted by another government would be enough. Seegeen is a molecular diagnosis company. This is their specialty. Of course, there may be other issues for FDA approval that the authors/CNN chose not to mention. It is so hard to know the bias in information today.
One thing: The US cannot make money from the SK kit, and must spend money to buy it. But Chun said it costs less than $20/person per test.
Is this just another way the US is failing in the COVID-19 crisis? Slow-walking testing so the WH can keep the identified case numbers down? We know there are thousands of cases in the US that have not been identified. That is an important distinction.
I want to both scream and weep at how this WH has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a person over 65, with health issues, I am scared. I have older sibs, some with more serious health conditions and I am scared for them, too.
You can read the entire article here https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/asia/coronavirus-south-korea-testing-intl-hnk/index.html
CORONAVIRUS ON THE HIGH SEAS
Another eye opening article about the cruise industry can be found here: www.politico.com/...
Coronavirus on the high seas: Why the U.S. can't touch cruise lines — lobbying power, loop holes in regulations, failure to pass tighter regulations. One thing I found interesting is that many ships are registered in other countries — for low wages, cheap fees, lax regulations compared to the US. so should they get a bailout or not?
Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), chairman of the Transportation Committee, said Tuesday that he’s not interested in bailing out the cruise industry.
“They aren't American,” he said. “They don't pay taxes in the United States of America. If they want to re-flag their ships ... and pay U.S. wages and pay U.S. taxes, then maybe."
Be gentle. I have some cognitive issues. Hope there are not too many mistakes in this.