More than 18 month since the outbreak, COVID 19 is still raging in much of the world. The novel coronavirus has mutated into strains such as the Delta variant which was first detected in India and accounted for 99% of Covid-19 cases in the UK by mid-Jun, according to Public Health England. (The Guardian, 2021)

Delta strain is a highly contagious and possibly more severe SARS-CoV-2 virus strain. Delta is spreading 50% faster than Alpha, which was 50% more contagious than the original strain of SARS-CoV-2—making the new variant 75% more contagious than the original. (YaleMedicine, 2021) And like we’re seeing now, Delta is outcompeting everything else and becoming the dominant strain.

The symptoms of the Delta variant appear to differ from traditional COVID symptoms, According to data from the United Kingdom, the most common COVID symptoms may have changed from those we traditionally associated with the virus. Those include:

Put aside fever and cough which have always been common COVID symptoms, and headache and sore throat which have traditionally presented for some people, a runny nose is now being reported significantly more frequently. Meanwhile, loss of smell, which was originally quite common, now ranks ninth. (Herrero, 2021)

Although it's still not clear whether it it's more dangerous, scientists are becoming more confident the Delta variant represents a more transmissible SARS-CoV-2 strain. (Fox, 2021) What’s even more concerning, is that the Delta variant that has caused devastation in countries like India and the UK has now mutated to produce another variant called Delta Plus. (Joi, 2021)

While vaccines are rolling out, not all of us are able to receive them as soon as we'd like. And because not all of us are yet fully protected, get tested if you have any symptoms, even if it’s “just a sniffle”, to protect yourself with some added peace of mind as well as others in your community.

Through the course of the pandemic, Biotime’s consolidated its commitment to bringing accessible COVID-19 rapid self-testing to the masses. Hence a wide range of covid 19 test kits has been rolled out and made available both nationwide and worldwide. In particular, the BIOTIME SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM Rapid Qualitative Test is a lateral flow immunoassay intended for qualitative detection and differentiation of IgM and IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in human serum, plasma (potassium EDTA), and potassium EDTA venous whole blood. Our rapid antigen covid test kit is also qualified to detect both asymptomatic and symptomatic COVID-19, helping society collectively return to daily life.

In addition to that, some scientific researches have purposefully assessed the use of D-dimer, PCT, CRP, IL-6, Ferritin as biomarkers for disease severity and mortality in COVID-19 patients. And the results are rather convincing to suggest they can provide important information on the prognosis of the novel corona virus infection.

Below is Biotime’s product specification.

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References

The Guardian, (2021). Will vaccines protect us against the Delta variant?. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/27/will-vaccines-protect-us-against-the-delta-variant [Accessed 5 Jul. 2021].

Herrero, L. (2021). The symptoms of the Delta variant appear to differ from traditional COVID symptoms. Here’s what to look out for. [online] THE CONVERSATION Available at: https://theconversation.com/the-symptoms-of-the-delta-variant-appear-to-differ-from-traditional-covid-symptoms-heres-what-to-look-out-for-163487 [Accessed 5 Jul. 2021].

Fox, M. (2021). Here's what is known about the Delta variant of coronavirus [online] CNN health. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/30/health/delta-variant-covid-what-known/index.html [Accessed 5 Jul. 2021].

YaleMedicine, (2021). 5 Things To Know About the Delta Variant. [online] Available at: https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/5-things-to-know-delta-variant-covid [Accessed 5 Jul. 2021].

Joi, P. (2021). There’s now a Delta Plus variant of COVID-19 – what does this mean? [online] Gavi. Available at: https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/theres-now-delta-plus-variant-covid-19-what-does-mean [Accessed 5 Jul. 2021]

Southall, J. (2021). Elevated D-dimer levels common months after COVID-19 diagnosis [online] Healio. Available at: https://www.healio.com/news/hematology-oncology/20210408/elevated-ddimer-levels-common-months-after-covid19-diagnosis [Accessed 5 Jul. 2021]