coronavirus - Hardy Diagnostics Blog

SARS-CoV-2, Omicron is now dominant, but…
Are More Variants Coming?

February 10, 2022February 10, 2022 hardydiagnosticsadmin

How dangerous are the BA.2 and BA.3 sub-variants compared to the Omicron BA.1 that we already know? South Africa has one of the most robust public health systems in the world, carefully monitoring their SARS-CoV-2 case load, which has been dominated these last few months by the Delta variant. In recent months, however, South Africa’s case…

Micro Musings

The Novavax protein antigen vaccine

September 7, 2021October 8, 2021 hardydiagnosticsadmin

Is a New and Better Vaccine Coming Soon? A new player in the field of COVID vaccines could be arriving soon. The trials so far are encouraging for both safety and efficacy. It even has some advantages over the Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J vaccines that have become so familiar to us. Novavax, headquartered in Maryland,…

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Unmasking the Facts in a Post-Pandemic World

August 4, 2021August 4, 2021 Cierra Benavidez

Is there a correlation between the end of mask mandates and the rise in cases of the common cold and influenza? The start of the summer is aligning with another new beginning, one in which many around the world make a return to the “New Normal” and relearn what life was like before COVID-19. While…

Micro Musings

Will More COVID Variants Emerge?

June 3, 2021August 12, 2021 hardydiagnosticsadmin

Although of great concern, vaccination will help When will the pandemic end? How many more COVID-19 waves will the U.S. go through? Will we go back to “normal” in the fall? All these questions depend largely on one factor: the epidemiology of the variants. As the virus spreads around the world, variant strains have emerged….

Micro Musings

How Does The COVID-19 Virus Affect Our Gut Microbiome?

February 5, 2021August 12, 2021 hardydiagnosticsadmin 1 Comment

A SARS-CoV-2 infection affects many organ systems in the body, including the gut microbiome and the 100 trillion bacterial that make up this important part of our bodies and its immune system.

Micro Musings

T cells vs Antibodies – The Unsung Warriors Against COVID-19

January 7, 2021August 12, 2021 hardydiagnosticsadmin 2 Comments

A novel test for T cells show great promise in detecting immune status Antibodies often steal the spotlight when talking about immunity, but they are not the only protagonist in the immune system. T cells are specialized defenders activated in the adaptive immune response. They multiply and differentiate into cytotoxic, helper, or regulatory t-cells. These…

Micro Musings

The COVID-19 Vaccines

December 21, 2020August 12, 2021 hardydiagnosticsadmin 1 Comment

COVID-19 has dominated our lives for the better part of a year and yet we are left with more questions than we are answers. One of these questions most frequently brought up is how long will the antibodies be effective after a vaccination is given?

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CDC Recommends Nasopharyngeal Swabs AND Oropharyngeal Swabs as Suitable for Upper Respiratory Tract Specimens for Investigations of Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

February 5, 2020August 12, 2021 hardydiagnosticsadmin

COPAN announces a kit that pairs 3mL of UTM® universal viral transport medium and two FLOQSwabs™: one minitip and one regular flocked swab. MURRIETA, Calif., Jan. 31, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — On January 30th, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) held its second meeting in Geneva of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak…

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