Medical Laboratory Professionals Week: April 18 - 24, 2021, is the perfect time to recognize the remarkable work of clinical laboratory professionals, especially during COVID-19 and as Mayo Clinic Laboratories celebrates its 50th anniversary.
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Mayo Clinic Laboratories has performed over 3 million COVID-19 tests.

"In December 2019, there was a disease, and three months later, everyone in the country — and around the globe — wanted a test to see if they had the disease," says Dr. William Morice II, chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and president of Mayo Clinic Laboratories. "With COVID-19, we've learned the importance of laboratory testing and diagnostic medicine in health care, both in the U.S. and globally."

Dr. Morice says professionals are needed in laboratory medicine, who understand the technology and the science, but also who understand the human need.

"One of the strong memories for me was being in the lab late at night, and getting an email from a Native American tribal leader saying, 'We need help,'" says Dr. Morice.

In this Mayo Clinic Q&A podcast, Dr. Morice speaks about the commitment, agility and resiliency of laboratory staff during COVID-19, the collaborations and partnerships with academic and private labs, and the future of testing as more COVID-19 variants emerge.

Watch: Dr. Morice talks about the Mayo Clinic Laboratories response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full transcript.

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Information in this post was accurate at the time of its posting. Due to the fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientific understanding, along with guidelines and recommendations, may have changed since the original publication date. 

For the safety of our patients, staff and visitors, Mayo Clinic has strict masking policies in place.  Anyone shown without a mask was either recorded prior to COVID-19 or recorded in a nonpatient care area where social distancing and other safety protocols were followed.

For more information and all your COVID-19 coverage, go to the Mayo Clinic News Network and mayoclinic.org.

Learn more about: Tracking COVID-19 and COVID-19 trends.

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