Sample pooling on triplets to speed up SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis using CDC FDA EUA RT-qPCR kit

The CDC designed “FDA Emergeny Use Autorization” 2019-nCoV CDC RT-qPCR kit uses 3 different FAM probes for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis so 3 reactions per sample are needed. We herein describe a sample pooling protocol: 3 RNA extractions are combined into a single PCR reaction. The sensitivity for this protocol is 100% as no shift on Ct values for N1 or N2 probes were observed. For a typical 96-well plate, triplet assay allows 96 samples processing, speeding up diagnosis.