Can Current COVID-19 Tests Detect Omicron? Yes and No.
Anxiety over the new coronavirus variant, Omicron, had already reached a fever pitch earlier this week—perhaps fueled by a sense of déjà vu harkening back to about six months ago, when the rapid spread of the Delta variant shattered our visions of a normal-ish summer.
Today, the U.S. identified its first case of Omicron in California. The person affected recently returned from South Africa, has mild symptoms and is self-quarantining, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventionreports. The news makes Omicron’s risk—which is still unclear—feel even more real for those in the States. It also underscores the importance of remaining vigilant about the virus.
Part of being ready, of course, is frequent testing. Knowing if you’re positive for the virus, ideally as early as possible, will help prevent you from spreading it to other people. As the City of New York tweeted today, the best steps we can take now to stay protected are to get vaccinated, get boosted and get tested. So can existing COVID-19 tests tell if someone is infected with Omicron vs. another variant? Like so much else about this virus, the answer is complicated.
As my colleague Alice Park reports, the majority of PCR tests—the ones you typically get at medical labs under the guidance of professionals—as well as antigen tests—the at-home rapid tests—can detect SARS-CoV-2, but they can’t confirm which version of the virus is present. Why? Variants are designated based on differences in mutations; in Omicron’s case, many of those occur in its spike protein, which changes so often (to evade drugs and vaccines) that test-makers don't bother targeting it. A doctor could send your positive sample to a lab that would then sequence it to look for the genetic signatures unique to Omicron—but in most cases they wouldn’t, given the volume of positive samples nationwide.
One commercial PCR test, from Thermo Fisher Scientific, can detect the presence of the virus and also give testers some idea about whether they’re dealing with the Omicron variant. The test targets three different parts of SARS-CoV-2: two relatively stable regions, and the more variable spike protein. As Alice explains, Omicron will show positive matches on the two more stable regions, but will show a mismatch on the spike protein portion. So if a sample produces all three matches, it’s likely Delta; if it results in only two positive matches, it’s probably Omicron.
“This happens to be good fortune that this pattern can flag the presence of Omicron,” Mark Stevenson, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Thermo Fisher, told Alice. “It’s a good early warning system.”
Meanwhile, rapid at-home tests can’t determine if someone is infected with Omicron—but they’re still useful. They’ll let you know if you’re positive for any version of the virus, which is important intel, especially as all eyes remain on this new threat.
More than 570.6 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been shipped to various U.S. states as of yesterday afternoon, of which more than 459.2 million doses have been administered, according to TIME's vaccine tracker. About 59.3% of Americans have been completely vaccinated.
Nearly 263 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 12 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 5.2 million people have died. On Nov. 30, there were 615,787 new cases and 7,704 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here's every country that has reported over 5 million cases:
The U.S. had recorded more than 48.5 million coronavirus cases as of 12 a.m. E.T. today. More than 780,000 people have died. On Nov. 30, there were 116,588 new cases and 1,539 new deaths confirmed in the U.S.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
The recent dip and rise in daily cases is likely due to reduced reporting during the holiday weekend; historically, the U.S. has seen similar short-term, apparent drop offs that were later shown to be outliers.
That said, here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of Dec. 1, 12 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
The Biden Administration is weighing stricter testing for all travelers entering the U.S., the Washington Post reports. As part of a prevention strategy Biden is expected to announce tomorrow, anyone entering the country would need to be tested within 24 hours of boarding their flight, regardless of vaccination status or where they’re coming from. The White House is also reportedly considering a more controversial proposal: that all travelers would need to self-quarantine for seven days, even if they tested negative for the coronavirus.
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel yesterday narrowly recommended authorization of the first antiviral pill to treat COVID-19. As the AP reports, Merck’s drug, called molnupiravir, was specifically backed for use in adults with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 illness who are older or have conditions such as obesity or asthma that put them at risk for serious complications. It should not be used by anyone who’s pregnant, since its risks include potential birth defects.
A federal judge yesterday blocked President Biden’s vaccine mandate for U.S. health workers, which was set to start next week. The temporary ruling will likely be reviewed by an appeals court. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry called the mandate, which would affect some 10 million workers, an “unconstitutional and immoral attack,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
The Japanese government said today that it’s halting new bookings for incoming flights through December, as part of efforts to slow the spread of the Omicron variant. Existing bookings won’t be affected, per the New York Times. Earlier this week, Japan prohibited non-resident foreigners from entering the country and closed its borders to non-Japanese travelers from 10 southern African countries. So far, two cases of Omicron have been confirmed in Japan.
Germany’s chancellor-to-be, Olaf Scholz, wants mandatory vaccination to be implemented for the country’s citizens in early 2022. Such a requirement would have to be approved by the German federal parliament, as Politico reports. Just over 68% of Germany’s population is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Former President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19 three days before his first 2020 presidential debate with Joe Biden,the Guardian reports. That intel is based on an excerpt from an upcoming book by Trump's former chief of staff, Mark Meadows. (The White House previously said that Trump didn’t test positive until two days after the debate.) In a statement released today, Trump declared Meadows’ claim to be fake news.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer, please send them to covidquestions@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Angela Haupt and edited by Elijah Wolfson.
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