Viral Traceability and Containment of Covid-19 Pandemic in a Semi-Peripheral Context: the Case of Neokit and Ela-Chemstrip

Abstract

In a context of global pandemic caused by SARS-CoV2 virus, in Argentina —a semiperipheral country— efforts were made to coordinate health, production and technological policies for the provision of essential products, such as rapid diagnostic kits. In this article we focus on the role that Argentina plays facing the global pandemic in the development of diagnostic tests for the COVID-19 disease. In particular, we focus on the local development of two rapid tests, Neokit and ElaChemstrip. Through the empirical evidence that these two cases constitute, we can argue that a semi-peripheral country, such as Argentina, has sufficient productive and technological capacities to generate local developments in the area of human health, so it can aspire to a “missionoriented” policy that manages to systematize, complement and scale public and private efforts.