FROM THE EDITOR


Forecast still cloudy on COVID


C


By Kristine Russell Executive Editor


OVID-19 reports, with the exception of maybe weather and the stock market, are the most viewed (and most impactful) numbers in our daily lives in spring of 2022. They are also changing more and, as a result, are harder to predict, than any changes in weather or business. Over the past month alone, we have seen both the highs and the lows. After sharp increases in the first half of March, the CDC reported that COVID-19 cases have been on a steady decrease for the latter half of said month. Indeed, rates of infection and mortality have been on steady declines throughout the country.


However, international headlines, particularly in the UK and


China, can hardly be encouraging. In fact, COVID in China is raging as the country is in the midst of their worst outbreak since the pandemic began (and far surpassing the height of the initial spread in Wuhan in 2020). China shut down Shanghai and other surrounding areas with an ongoing lockdown of around 26 million people, again bringing factory shutdowns and future potential shortages of supplies back to the forefront of concern. According to NPR, China sent more than 10,000 health workers from around the country to help the city with mass testing of the Shanghai residents. In Britain, COVID is surging as well, and a new Omicron


variant, XE, has been identified and detected. And, while overall national rates here in the U.S. have been


falling, on a state-level things are much different, as close to half of the states are seeing their COVID numbers on the rise. Thus, we laboratorians cannot rest on our laurels or put away our COVID test procedures yet. COVID-19 will continue to be a fact of our lives for the fore- seeable future, and we, the laboratorians, the epidemiologists, the scientists, must continue to consider ourselves as not just valued public servants, but also as community leaders. In these troubling times, we in the laboratories are shaping and influencing the lives of everyone. We are responsible for detecting and responding to a public emergency, and every action we take has reverberations through- out our community and throughout the world. And it looks like for now, our labs and our laboratorians are still going need to be ready to tackle the next variant or the next twist on COVID care. I welcome your comments, questions and opinions – please send them to me at krussell@mlo-online.com.


MEDICAL LABORATORY OBSERVER Vol.54, No.5


Group Publisher/Executive Editor Kristine Russell


krussell@mlo-online.com


Managing Editor Gail Castanho gcastanho@endeavorb2b.com


Assistant Editor Erin Brady


ebrady@endeavorb2b.com


Graphic Artist Patti Connors pconnors@endeavorb2b.com


Audience Development/List Rentals Laura Moulton lmoulton@endeavorb2b.com


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MLO EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD


John Brunstein, PhD, Biochemistry (Molecular Virology) President & CSO PathoID, Inc., British Columbia, Canada


John A. Gerlach, PhD, D(ABHI) Laboratory Director Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI


Barbara Strain, MA, SM(ASCP), CVAHP Principal, Barbara Strain Consulting LLC Formerly Director, Value Management University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA


Jeffrey D. Klausner, MD, MPH Professor of Preventive Medicine in the Division of Dis- ease Prevention, Policy and Global Health, Department of Preventive Medicine at University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.


Susan McQuiston, JD, MT(ASCP), SCy(ASCP) Instructor, Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics Program Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI


Donna Beasley, DLM(ASCP) Director


Huron Healthcare, Chicago, IL


Anthony Kurec, MS, H(ASCP)DLM Clinical Associate Professor, Emeritus SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY


Suzanne Butch, MLS(ASCP)CM Freelance Consultant, Avon, OH


, SBBCM , DLMCM


Paul R. Eden, Jr., MT(ASCP), PhD Lt. Col., USAF (ret.) (formerly) Chief, Laboratory Services 88th Diagnostics/Therapeutics Squadron Wright-Patterson AFB, OH


Daniel J. Scungio, MT (ASCP), SLS, CQA (ASQ) Consultant at Dan the Lab Safety Man and Safety Officer at Sentara Healthcare, Norfolk, VA


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