Labs Worldwide Still Struggling Amid Broken Supply Chains
Countries outside the US and Europe that are already used to long wait times for laboratory supplies are facing greater research disruptions than ever during the pandemic.
May 21, 2021
Virologist Shi-Hsia Hwa of the Africa Health Research Institute in Durban, South Africa, holds up a multiwell plate used for plasma neutralization assays. The critical item in COVID-19 research has recently run low in supply at labs around the world.
Shi-Hsia Hwa, Africa Health Research Institute
Among the scientists across the world poised to rapidly produce data on SARS-CoV-2’s continued global proliferation is immunologist and virologist James Nyagwange of Kenya’s Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)-Wellcome Trust Research Program in Kilifi. He and his colleagues have planned a number of projects related to new variants and the human immune response to the virus, but over the past year, some of their COVID-19–related studies have stalled due to delays in getting the lab materials they need from abroad.