PCR Test for COVID

General

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2764238

Low Cost Test

• Low Cost and Safe COVID Detection
• $15 and 4 hours - [$15 (without taking an account of labor cost) per testing, while the total duration of the protocol was found to be approximately 4 hours. ]

Sourcing

• SYBR Green (as in article above) Master Mix is $3/test - https://www.thermofisher.com/order/catalog/product/4344463#/4344463
• TRIzol RNA prep kit - [1]
• Probes and primers are 23 cents each - source - [2]

Other Generic

• PCR master mix - dNTPs, enzymes included - https://www.promega.com/-/media/files/resources/protocols/product-information-sheets/g/pcr-master-mix-protocol.pdf?la=en.
• Cost for Master Mix is 40 cents - [3]

What Gives?

• The antibody test, a rapid diagnostic developed by Abbott Laboratories that requires a simple, single finger prick, takes five minutes to complete and cost Egyptians a mere 50¢. Genome tests developed by Roche, which were administered to nearly four million, cost no more than $5 each. That’s a sharp contrast to what people are charging today to test for COVID-19—in some cases $10 to $20 for a serology test, and more than $100 for a genome test. - [4]
• Roche test - [5]

Difficulties

• Controls - positive control of covid sequence
• verification of RNA extraction to prevent false negative
• primer verification to prevent false positives