Do Current COVID-19 Tests Still Detect Omicron?

While no cases of the new coronavirus variant, Omicron, have been reported in the U.S. yet, it’s only a matter of time. In fact, Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor on COVID-19 to President Biden, says it’s likely the virus is already in the country, given how much travel is occurring between countries as pandemic restrictions have started to lift in recent months. Even if the variant were here, could existing tests tell if someone were infected by it? Testing experts say yes and no. The majority of tests used by commercial and public health labs can detect SARS-CoV-2, but they can’t confirm which version of the virus is present. That’s because the tests intentionally target parts of the virus that don’t change much. Variants are designated based on differences in mutations—in Omicron’s case, especially those in spike protein, a part of the virus that changes frequently to bypass drugs and immune cells, and thus are difficult to test for. So the majority of the tests available will show if a person is carrying the virus—but there’s no way to tell whether that virus is Omicron. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] For that, a doctor would have to send your sample to a lab that can then sequence genetically to look for the genetic signatures unique to Omicron. There is one commercial test, from Thermo Fisher Scientific, that can perform the two-fer: both detect the presence of the virus and give testers an inkli...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 healthscienceclimate Source Type: news