Clinical performance of Roche cobas 6800, Luminex ARIES, MiRXES Fortitude Kit 2.1, Altona RealStar, and Applied Biosystems TaqPath for SARS-CoV-2 detection in nasopharyngeal swabs.

We compared the performance of five assays for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) detection on nasopharyngeal swab samples: Roche "cobas," Luminex "ARIES," MiRXES "Fortitude," Altona "RealStar," and Thermo Fisher Scientific "TaqPath." A total of 94 nasopharyngeal swab samples were obtained from 80 confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 cases in the first 2 weeks of illness (median, 7 days; range, 2-14 days) and 14 healthy controls. After collection, all samples were transported to the hospital clinical laboratory within 24 h. These samples were tested on all five assays within 3 days of sample receipt. Of the 94 samples, 69 yielded the same result on all platforms, resulting in an agreement of 73.4% (69 of 94). Of these, 14 were the healthy control swabs which all tested negative, demonstrating good specificity across all platforms. The ARIES assay had the lowest detection rate (68.8%), followed by Fortitude (85.0%), RealStar (86.3%), cobas (95.0%), and TaqPath (100%). Statistically significant differences were observed for ARIES, Fortitude, and RealStar when compared against the best performing TaqPath using McNemar's χ2 test. A consensus result was established based on the results obtained by the cobas, Fortitude, RealStar, and TaqPath. Six discrepancies had failed to reach a consensus and were adjudicated using the Cepheid Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2. Overall, the TaqPath and cobas assays were the most sensitive at detecting their designated SARS-CoV-2 gene targets. On the other hand, the ARIES assay was the least sensitive, thus warranting the need for assay re-optimization before go-live at the testing laboratory.

Predictors of Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) Vaccine Acceptance Among Nigerian Medical Doctors (preprint)

Background: Since its onset about a year ago, COVID-19 pandemic has led to the deaths of over two million, a global economic recession and has threatened the fragile healthcare systems. Vaccination promises to rapidly bring the pandemic under control, return normalcy to the world and pave the way of economic recovery.Methods: This was a cross-sectional, country-wide, self-administered anonymous online survey, carried out on the WhatsApp platform and among the Nigerian Medical Doctors. The study was conducted between 13th to 31st January, 2021 using the health belief model (HBM) as a hypothetical framework for understanding the acceptance of the prospective COVID-19 vaccination.Findings: A total of 830 Medical Doctors from 34 states of the Nigerian federation capital responded to the online survey. Of these, 38.8% were willing to take the vaccine, 36.0% were unsure, while the remaining 26.5% would not. The positive predictors for vaccine acceptance were age, male gender, perceived contagiousness of the virus, and perceived threat to life. The believe that ivermectin is an excellent alternative to the vaccine was the only negative predictor. Safety concerns were the major deterrents to accepting the COVID-19 vaccines. Hypothetically addressing the fears on vaccine safety will result in additional 287 (34.6%) Doctors who will be willing to take the COVID-19 vaccine by (p<0.0001). Interpretation: The acceptance of the prospective COVID-19 vaccine among the Nigerian Medical Doctors is low (38.8%). As the primary advocates for vaccination, the country needs to encourage the acceptance of the vaccine among its medical doctors.Funding; This study was solely funded by the authorDeclaration of Interest: None to declare. Ethical Approval: The guidelines on research involving human subjects, according to Helsinki declaration were followed. Online consent was obtained from participants. Participants were allowed to leave the survey at any time they desired. Confidentiality of information was assured, and the survey was anonymous.