Diagnostic tests were seen as crucial in the identification and management of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is now widely accepted that better prioritisation of early diagnostic testing and earlier access to more robust tests may have reduced disease spread and saved lives.
The 100 Days Mission was developed in 2021 by scientific, governmental and industry experts to improve the response to future threats using lessons learned from COVID-19 and previous epidemics. The aim is to provide safe, effective, and affordable rapid diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines within 100 days of a declaration of a major outbreak. Building sustainable resources for the evaluation of future diagnostics that can be rapidly activated, mobilised and implemented is essential to achieving this target.
Working closely with the wider measurement community, and national and global policy and healthcare officials who were on the front line of managing national responses to Covid-19, the NML led on the development of the CCQM Pandemic Roadmap. The Roadmap sets out recommendations for specific measurement interventions that could enable a more rapid response and enhance clinical outcomes, providing globally accepted baseline measurements for policy decisions for any future infectious disease outbreak.
The NML continues to work to support the UK’s pandemic preparedness with partners across the diagnostic space, establishing a sustainable framework for assurance of accurate diagnostic tests within the UK that will guarantee robust and reliable diagnosis to support and inform wide-scale public health.