ALRIGHT GUYS, IT’S TIME FOR A NEWEG SMENT IN THIS NEWSCAST THAT WE’RE CALLING ASK KELLY AND HERE’S HOW IT WORKS IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION THAT YOU WOULD LIKE ANSWERED AND IT COULD BE REALLY ABOUT JUST ABOUT ANYTHING JUST SUBMIT A VIDEO OF YOURSELF ASKING THAT QUESTION AND I’M GONNA DO MY BEST TOET G YOU AN ANSWER. TODAY’S ASK KELLY SEGMENT IS ABOUT HOW SCIENTISTS KNOW WHICH VARIANT VARIANT OF COVID-19 A PERSON HASI, H I’M JOSH CHESMORE. I AM FM ROLATROBE. I WANTED TO ASK KELLY. HOW ARE DOCTORS LABS AND HOSPITALS ABLE TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE VARIANCE OF COVID? HOURS COVEREDUS JT COVID. THANK YOU. JOSH THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION. WE TKOO THAT TO DR. ALLEN WELLS THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR AT UPMC'’ CLINALIC LABORATORIES THE LARGEST ACADEMIC ACADEMIC CLINICAL LAB HERE IN THE US. SO THIS IS THE MAIN FLOOR DR. WELLS GAVE US INCREDIBLE ACCESS INSIDE ONE OF THE BIGGEST AND BUSIEST LABS IN ALL OF PITTSBURGH. THIS IS PCR TESTING. IT’S A WAY OF AMPLIFYING THE GENETIC MATERIAL OF THE VIRUS. NOW. THIS MACHINE CAN PROCESS UP TO 48 SAMPLES AT A TIME GETTI ANG POSITIVE OR A NEGATIVE READING TO ANSWER JOSH’S ESQUTION FOR INDIVIDUAL WHO IS SI COVID-19 COVID AND WE TREAT ACCORDINGLY. INDIVIDUALS AND THE DOCTORS TREATING THEM. PTI ANDHE T BIG REASON DR. WELLS SAYS, ITOE DSN’T MATTER FOR THAT GENTLEMAN. HE GETS COVID. IT DOESN’T MATTER FOR HIS CARE WHETHER IT’S DELTA. ANY OF THE NEW VARIANTS OR OLD IEFRNDS ALPHA OR GAMMA? HE’S TREATED THE SAME. BASED ON HOW SICK HE IS AND WHAT HIS RISKS AREUT B BIG PICTURE IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO KEEP TABS ON THE VIRUS’S ACTIVITY. IT’S A WAY FOR COMMUNITIES TO MONITOR IF ANY NEW VARIANTS ARE POPPING UP AND THAT’S WHERE THIS LAB COMES INHE T MICROBIAL GENOMIC EPIDEMIOLOGY LAB RANDOM POSITIVE COVID-19 SAMPLES FROM DR.EL WLS’S LAB ARE SENT OVER TO THIS LAB THAT DR. LEE HARRISON OVERSE AEST THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF MEDICINE TO DETERMINE THE VARIANT AND THIS LITTLE MEAN THE SEQUENCER IS WHERE THAT MAG HICAPPENS THE END. IT GIVES US THE ACTUAL GENETIC CODE OF THE ENTIRE 30,000 LONG SARS. COVI 2 GENOME AND IT’S IT’S FABULOUS. IT 'T ’S A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT LABS DOING SEQUENCING MAKING THOSE DATA AVAILABLE AND THEN YOU CAN LOOK ACRSOS THE UNITED STATES WHATAR VIANTS ARE CIRCULATING AND WHICH AREAS AND BASED ON ALL THE RECENT. FRANKLY IF YOUET G SICK HERE AND YOUR POSITIVE WITH COVID IN THIS AREA, ITS I GOING TO BE DTAEL BECAUSE IT’S WELL OVER 90% AND ACCORDING TO THE CDC ABOUT 99% AT THIS POINT OF COVID-19 CASES AND ALL OF THES U RIGHT NOW ARE THE DELTA VARIANCE THAT REALLY IS INTERESTING BECAUSE I WOULD THINK YOU KNOW, IF IT’S DELTA MAYBE A STREET OF DIFFERENT WAY, BUT THAT’S NOT THE CASE. IT IS NOT THE CASE. SO THAT WAS INTERESTING TO FIND OUT SO ON THE PATIENT LEVEL YOU REALLY AREN’T GOING TO KNOW BUT AS A WHOLE WE’RE KIND OF SEEING THAT COLLECTIVELY SO FASCINATING. ALL RIGHT WAY IF THERE’S A QUESTION I CAN GET ANSWERED FOR YOU. LET ME KNOW YOU CAN LEAVE A VOICE MESSAGE AT THE NUMBER YOU SEE ON YOUR SCREEN FOR ONE TWO, TWO FOUR FOUR. 610 PLEASE LEAVE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION OR YOU CAN ALSO JUMP STRAIGHT IN AND SEND ME A VIDEO MESSAGE. THAT’S THE BEST WAY TO DO IT. YOU CAN SEND TTHA TO ME THROUGH