Safety for Biobanks: Strategies for Safe COVID-19 Specimens Handling

Author: Shonali Paul

Journal: Biobanking.com, April 24, 2020

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has spread to almost every country around the world. In less than 4 months, this new disease has affected more than 1,800,000 people and caused almost 120,000 deaths. There are no effective treatments or vaccines for COVID-19. Therefore, while scientists search for therapeutic options, many governments have turned to patient testing and contract tracing to control the outbreak.

This has put biobanks at the forefront of COVID-19 pandemic control. High quality COVID-19 specimens are essential to both diagnostic testing and research, and biobanks are a vital repository for these specimens.