Implementation of an Emergency Use Authorization Test During an Impending National Crisis

ABSTRACT

The laboratory response to the current severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic may be termed heroic. From the identification of the novel coronavirus to implementation of routine laboratory testing around the world to the development of potential vaccines, laboratories have played a critical role in the efforts to curtail this pandemic. In this brief report, we review our own effort at a mid-sized, rural, academic medical center to implement a molecular test for the virus;and, we share insights and lessons learned from that process which might be helpful in similar situations in the future.