Covid‐19 Control and the Economy: Test, Test, Test*

Taamouti, Abderrahim

doi:10.1111/obes.12442

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The expanded SARS-CoV-2 prototype assay was designed to detect 8 targets plus an internal control in a single well and achieved 92% overall sensitivity on the 71 clinical samples tested with 100% accuracy on viral identification. As of November 2020, the United States is currently running over 1 million SARS-CoV-2 tests per day, and this volume will need to continue well into 2021 to contain the pandemic until widespread vaccination is achieved . This unprecedented need for widespread testing is already putting significant strain on existing diagnostic capacity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Robust Multichannel Encoding for Highly Multiplexed Quantitative PCR

Jacky¹,

Yurk

Belitz³

et al. 2021

Anal. Chem.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The gold standard of molecular pathogen detection is the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Modern qPCR instruments are capable of detecting 4−6 analytes in a single sample: one per optical detection channel. However, many clinical applications require multiplexing beyond this traditional single-well capacity, including the task of simultaneously testing for SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory pathogens. This can be addressed by dividing a sample across multiple wells, or using technologies such as genomic sequencing and spatial arrays, but at the expense of significantly higher cost and lower throughput compared with single-well qPCR. These trade-offs represent unacceptable compromises in high-throughput screening scenarios such as SARS-CoV-2 testing. We demonstrate a novel method of detecting up to 20 targets per well with standard qPCR instrumentation: high-definition PCR (HDPCR). HDPCR combines TaqMan chemistry and familiar workflows with robust encoding to enable far higher levels of multiplexing on a traditional qPCR system without an increase in cost or reduction in throughput. We utilize HDPCR with a custom 20-Plex assay, an 8-Plex assay using unmodified predesigned single-plex assays from Integrated DNA Technologies and a 9-Plex pathogen panel inclusive of SARS-CoV-2 and other common respiratory viruses. All three assays were successful when tested on a variety of samples, with overall sample accuracies of 98.8, 98.3, and 100%, respectively. The HDPCR technology enables the large install base of qPCR instrumentation to perform mid-density multiplex diagnostics without modification to instrumentation or workflow, meeting the urgent need for increased diagnostic yield at an affordable price without sacrificing assay performance.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Robust Multichannel Encoding for Highly Multiplexed Quantitative PCR

Jacky¹,

Yurk

Belitz³

et al. 2021

Anal. Chem.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Initially, policies prioritizing public health measures over economic considerations were enforced, with mobility restrictions being a prominent component [ 1 – 5 ]. However, these measures posed a dilemma, forcing a choice between public health and economic priorities [ 6 , 7 ]. The mobility restrictions play a positive role in preserving public health, but they hinder economic activities by regulating people’s movements.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

North Korea’s COVID-19 policy dilemma: epidemic prevention conflicting with trade

Park,

Cho

2024

Global Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, striking a delicate balance between sustaining economic activity and safeguarding public health has become a crucial concern. The border closures for COVID-19 prevention have further intensified concerns for North Korea, which conducts over 90% of its trade with China and Russia, countries sharing its borders. Methods This study aims to scrutinize North Korea’s response to these competing imperatives by examining the impact of border closures on the country’s trade dynamics with China and Russia. This study employed the difference-in-difference (DID) method to analyze transformations in North Korea’s economic activity before and after the border closures, utilizing trade data and nighttime satellite imagery captured in 2019 and 2020. Results The results reveal that North Korea actively reoriented its trade priorities towards Russia and accorded precedence to its epidemic prevention system over its economy during the pandemic. A noticeable increase in imports of food and pharmaceuticals was observed, indicating a significant rise in the inflow of these essential commodities. Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, North Korea placed significant policy emphasis on preserving public health. However, due to economic hardships and food shortages, if the pandemic persists in the long term, it indicates the possibility of partial or complete lifting of border closures to mitigate these challenges.

show abstract

Fence off Black Swans: The Economics of Insurance for Vaccine Injury*

Chen,

Mao

2023

Oxf Bull Econ Stat

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Being injured during vaccination, although infrequent, can occur, and this necessitates understanding the consequences of vaccine injuries. In this study, we analyse the impact of the risk of vaccine injuries, particularly the economic importance of vaccine injury compensation insurance (VICI) programmes for the injured, which few studies have investigated. Specifically, we examine the role of VICI on individuals' vaccination decisions by integrating an imperfect vaccine into an epidemiological‐economic model in the presence and absence of such an insurance mechanism. Our findings show that the risk of being injured is a non‐negligible risk that lowers individuals' incentives to be vaccinated. The introduction of VICI largely alleviates decision‐makers' concern about vaccine injury. Furthermore, our extended discussion shows the effect of insurance in encouraging vaccination persists under some more sophisticated scenarios.

show abstract

Covid‐19 Control and the Economy: Test, Test, Test*

Cited by 4 publications

References 13 publications

Robust Multichannel Encoding for Highly Multiplexed Quantitative PCR

Robust Multichannel Encoding for Highly Multiplexed Quantitative PCR

North Korea’s COVID-19 policy dilemma: epidemic prevention conflicting with trade

Fence off Black Swans: The Economics of Insurance for Vaccine Injury*

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About