Covid-19 Testing – Interview with Dr Mark Ali
Who is Mark Ali and Private Harley Street Clinic?
I am Dr Mark Ali and I am the Medical Director of the Private Harley Street Clinic, the leading private clinic in Covid 19 testing for individuals and organisations. As a part of my medical training, I completed a Degree in Immunology and Molecular Biology, this allows me to distill the scientific information that has been generated during this global pandemic.
How has the general public taken to the news about Covid-19 and the pandemic?
It is really gratifying to see that the general public has really captured the imagination and is following the whole concept of what the global pandemic is about is very cognizant of immunology and molecular biology terms. It is very much a, sort of, talk of the town and people at dinner parties or in the pub chatting to their friends and discussing these things.
At the end of the day true information is key in decision making, whether it be for an individual, a family, an organisation or a country it has never been as important for us all to be well informed, as today, organisations are looking for a way to get their workforce back to work.
What can we do as an organisation or business do to help?
We are in lockdown, and it's going to be many months before everyone is vaccinated and we can relax restrictions. As you know Rapid Antigen testing is very much in the forefront of the news today, so I am going to look at this testing modality in some detail and tell you what my thoughts are about it.
What is Rapid Antigen Testing and how can it help your workforce?
It is a simple test based on the same principle as the pregnancy test that we have known about for so many decades, where a clear line is created in the case of a positive test.
Saliva or nasal swab is obtained mixed with a buffer inserted into a well and as the material traverses across a strip laterally it generates a positive line in the case of a positive result and therefore you get an instant result within 10 to 15 minutes. The test has to be administered by a medical professional and that has been ordained by the MRHA who are our regulatory body. This test has been adopted for wide scale use by the British, German and Swiss Governments and so it's past scientific muster.
We know that it has a sensitivity up to 97.1%, specificity of 99.9% and so therefore it it compares quite favorably with PCR Testing which is the gold standard.
So why is it suitable for organisations and why should they be considering this?
It is accurate it's proven it is recognised by major European and worldwide governments, it is inexpensive costing less than £10 per test. It is rapid, it allows for a truly pragmatic and regular testing regime you can organise to have your entire workforce tested one morning and the results back by mid-morning and a decision make made that day, about getting your workforce back to work for a cost-effective price.
If you would like to find out more information about this contact us at info@privateharleystreetclinic.com
I would be happy to talk to you or your HR team about the different possibilities that exist.