Experts are watching for a potential new COVID-19 surge in the U.S. — and wondering how long it will take to detect.
is managing director of an Arizona-based consulting company that tracks coronavirus testing trends. She estimates that in January and February, about 8 million to 9 million rapid at-home antigen tests were being done each day on average — four to six times the number of PCR tests.Hunting for variantsother countries in using genetic tests to look for worrisome virus mutations.
The weekly volume of sequences performed through the contracts was much higher during the Omicron wave in December and January, when more people were getting tested, and already has fallen to about 35,000. By late spring, it will be down to 10,000, although CDC officials say the contracts allow the volume to increase to more than 20,000 if necessary.
Some health departments also have used sewage to look for variants. New York City, for example, detected the Omicron variant in a sample taken on Nov. 21 — about 10 days before the first case was reported in the U.S. “It’s a really important and promising strategy, no doubt. But the ultimate value is still probably yet to be understood,” saidfor deciding whether to lift mask-wearing rules, focusing less on positive test results and more on hospitalizations.
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