India's Covid testing data is a black hole, says top microbiologist

Private institutions should be allowed to do genome sequencing, says Dr Gagandeep Kang

While vaccination data on the Cowin dashboard and Insacog’s database of genome sequencing of the virus are well-managed, Covid testing data still is an area of concern in India, according to veteran microbiologist Dr Gagandeep Kang.

“When it comes to the testing database, it's a blackhole. The Cowin dashboard is an incredible feat given the scale of our vaccination efforts,” she told Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw in a webinar.

India has taken more than 699 million samples for testing from the beginning of the pandemic up to January 13, according to data gathered