In this episode, Elli Theel, Ph.D., director of the infectious diseases serology laboratory and co-director of the vector-borne diseases service line at Mayo Clinic, discusses some of the nitty-gritty details when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine and laboratory testing.
Show Notes
00:45 Can you let our listeners know what we know about the vaccines at this point (December 2020)?
02:00 With using the mRNA approach, do these vaccines have similar performance characteristics?
03:00 What does this mean for people after they get vaccinated? Hearing this high numbers of efficacy that is protecting me from the virus, what does this mean for how I should be behaving after I get vaccinated?
04:25 What are your thoughts on if there should be post-vaccination serology testing?
07:10 From your standpoint in the laboratory, has the laboratory developed all the tests that are needed? With the vaccines coming out, is laboratory medicine’s job done regarding COVID-19? Or do the folks in research and development still have some things they need to get done in lab medicine?
10:15 Is the fact that we have a couple of variations out there a testament that this was testing that needed to be brought up in the moment, which is why there are a couple of different strategies, and maybe over time we will see a convergence towards one over the other? Or, is there a reason to continue keeping these assays up because it really needs to be a battery in order to be accurate?
What is Lab Medicine Rounds?
A Mayo Clinic podcast for laboratory professionals, physicians, and students, hosted by Justin Kreuter, M.D., assistant professor of laboratory medicine and pathology at Mayo Clinic, featuring educational topics and insightful takeaways to apply in your practice.