COVID-19 resources

This page displays links to laboratory medicine and related organisations' COVID-19 resource hubs, documents and articles that may be of interest and are freely available without membership login.  All links open in a new browser window.

Organisation COVID-19 hubs are categorised by type.  Individual resources have an index number, a date posted on this page, the organisation producing it, its title and link.  

These resources are intended to support and inform laboratory medicine staff during the COVID-19 crisis, but they should not be used in place of guidance from employing organisations and national bodies.  AQMLM is not responsible for the content of any of these links.

If you would like to contribute a resource that you have found useful, please email mail@aqmlm.org.uk with the title, brief description and link.  All such resources should be properly referenced so that they are traceable back to an appropriate source.

Thank you!

Diagnostic Sensitivity & Specificity

• Wikipedia entry
• Kennis research applet (shows positive & negative predictive values according to sensitivity, specificity & prevalence)
• Westgard.com article + another on qualitative test clinical agreement

Self-Referral Testing for Key Workers - go here

Organisation COVID-19 Resource Hubs & Statements

UK Laboratory Medicine

• Academy of Healthcare Science (AHCS)
• Association for Clinical Biochemistry & Laboratory Medicine (ACB)
• Institute for Biomedical Science (IBMS)
• Lab Tests Online UK (LTOL)
• Royal Colledge of Pathologists (RCPath)
• United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS)
• United Kingdom National External Quality Assessment Service (UK NEQAS)

UK Government & related organisations

• British Standards Institute (BSI)
• Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC)
• Government / Public Health England (PHE) GOV.UK
• Health & Safety Executive (HSE)
• Health Education England (HEE)
• Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HEFA)   
• Medicines & Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
• NHS 111
• NHS Blood & Transplant (NHSBT)
• NHS Confederation
• NHS England
• NHS Providers
• NHS X
• National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE)  COVID-19 Rapid Guideline List 
• Office of National Statistics COVID-19 infection surveys (ONS)

UK clinical staff organisations

• General Medical Council (GMC)
• Health & Care Professions Council (HCPC)          
• British Medical Association (BMA)
• Royal College of Nursing (RCN)
• Royal College of Midwives (RCM)

UK Charities

• British Heart Foundation
• Cancer Research UK
• Diabetes UK

UK Diagnostic Industry

• Association of British HealthTech Industries Ltd (ABHI)
• British In Vitro Dignostics Association (BIVDA)

UK public service media

• BBC News
• Channel 4

International organisations

• American Association for Clinical Chemistry (USA) (AACC)
• Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (USA) (CDC)
• European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)  
• European Union (EU)
• Federal Drug Administration (USA)  (FDA)
• Health Information and Quality Authority (Ireland) (HIQA)
• International Federation of Clinical Chemistry & Laboratory Medicine (IFCC)
• International Standards Organisation (ISO)  Free read-only standards
• Joint Committee for Traceability in Laboratory Medicine (JCTLM)
• World Health Organisation (WHO)

COVID-19 Data collators

• UK Government (GOV.UK)
• John Hopkins University (US) (JHU)
• Worldometer (commercial site with ads)

Individual items relevant for laboratory medicine practice

1. 13.04.20  HSE : Safe working and the prevention of infection in clinical laboratories and similar facilities  link
2. 13.04.20  WHO : Laboratory biosafety guidance related to the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)  link
   
3. 13.04.20  RCPath : Prioritisation/deferral of Pathology Laboratory Work (in light of SARS- CoV-2 (COVID19) epidemic) link
4. 13.04.20  CDC : Interim Laboratory Biosafety Guidelines for Handling and Processing Specimens Associated with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) link
5. 16.04.20  GOV.UK : COVID-19: safe handling and processing for samples in laboratories link
6. 16.04.20  IFCC : The International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (IFCC) survey on local biochemistry laboratory practice during the COVID-19 outbreak  link
7. 17.04.20  MHRA : Guidance on placing on the market in the UK on evaluations of diagnostic products for coronavirus (COVID-19)  link
8. 17.04.20  QServe Group : Expectations for the Validation of COVID-19 Tests  link
9. 19.04.20  GOV.UK : Coronavirus (COVID-19): scaling up testing programmes  link
   
10. 21.04.20  Westgard.com : Wayne Dimech Part 1: Testing for COVID-19  link
11. 21.04.20  Westgard.com : Wayne Dimech Part 2: Maintaining Quality of Testing in a State of Emergency  link
    
12. 23.04.20  RCPath  Guidance on the use and interpretation of clinical biochemistry tests in ACB Expert briefing on the vital role of NHS laboratories in providing quality testing leading to the best possible patient care 30.04.20patients with COVID-19 infection.  link
13. 23.04.20  DHSC  Guidance for organisations seeking to support the COVID 19 Testing Programme.  link
14. 23.04.30  HIQA   Rapid health technology assessment of alternative diagnostic testing approaches for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (109pp)   link
15. 23.04.20  ECDC   Factsheet for health professionals on Coronaviruses.   link
16. 28.04.20  Publication  The critical role of laboratory medicine during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and other viral outbreaks. Lippi G, Plebani M.  Clin Chem Lab Med. 2020 Mar 19 [Epub ahead of print]  Pubmed link  Full text
17. 28.04.20  Publication   Potential preanalytical and analytical vulnerabilities in the laboratory diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).  Lippi G, Simundic AM, Plebani M.  Clin Chem Lab Med. 2020 Mar 16.  [Epub ahead of print]  Pubmed link  Full text
18. 30.04.20  Accepted Manuscript   SARS-CoV-2 Serology: Much Hype, Little Data. Christopher W Farnsworth, Neil W Anderson. Clin Chem hvaa107. 28 Apr 20  Link
19. 30.04.20  ACB  ACB Expert briefing: The vital role of NHS laboratories in providing quality testing leading to the best possible patient care. 30.04.20   Link
20. 01.05.20  Imperial College COVID-19 response team   Report 16: Role of testing in COVID-19 control (23 Apr 2020).   Link (pdf)
21. 03.05.20  NICE   COVID_19 guidance and advice list.   Link
22. 03.05.20  IBMS   COVID-19 testing: a four point plan for the next stage strategy (30.04.20).   Link
23. 05.05.20  FDA   Policy for Coronavirus Disease-2019 Tests During the Public Health Emergency (Revised)  Link (41 page pdf download)
24. 15.05.20  ACB  Expert Briefing: The role of antibody testing in the control of COVID-19, and how to ensure that direct molecular detection of the virus is part of a quality pathology system.  Link
25. 21.05.20  NHSE  Operating framework for urgent and planned services in hospital settings during COVID-19.  Link (pdf)
26. 22.05.20  RCPath  Recommendations for verification and validation methodology and sample sets for evaluation of assays for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19).  Link
27. 27.05.20  PHE/GOV.UK  COVID-19: laboratory evaluations of serological assays.  Link
28. 05.06.20  Publication  COVID-19 in adults: test menu for hospital blood science laboratories. O’Shea, P.M., Lee, G.R., Griffin, T.P. et al.  Ir J Med Sci (2020). Link 
29. 12.06.20  RCPath  RCPath has launched 'COVID-19 testing: a national strategy'.  Link  pdf
30. 12.06.20  PHE/GOV.UK  Disparities in the risk and outcomes of COVID-19.   Link
31. 19.06.20  NICE  Evidence standards framework for SARS-CoV-2 and anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody diagnostic tests.  Link
32. 09.07.20  GOV.UK  Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19) - Guidance for people who work in or run indoor labs and research facilities and similar environments. (03.07.20).  Link.
33. 31.07.20  JCTLM   Special issue July 2020: Member and Stakeholder Activities on COVID-19  Link