Want to Predict the Next Big COVID-19 Variant to Hit the U.S.? Look to Airports

With the summer travel season about to begin, public-health officials face a daunting challenge in keeping on top of ever-evolving COVID-19 variants. Most countries—including the U.S.—have scaled down or eliminated pandemic measures, including pre-flight testing and screening, giving the virus a greater opportunity to slip into countries undetected and start spreading. But even though the U.S. now has less robust COVID-19 data collection, one important but little-known source remains: samples from international passengers flying into the U.S. Launched by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in late 2021, the Traveler-Based Genomic Surveillance program is still running in seven of the busiest international airports in the U.S.: John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), San Francisco International Airport (SFO), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Officials with the CDC’s partner XpresCheck, which runs spa operations in many airports but began conducting COVID-19 testing during the pandemic, meet passengers on select international flights once they clear customs and ask them to voluntarily provide nasal swabs that are pooled and tested by Ginkgo Bioworks, CDC’s lab partner. “This prog...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 healthscienceclimate Source Type: news