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By PTI
WASHINGTON: Do at-home COVID-19 tests detect the omicron variant? Yes, but US health officials say early data suggests they may be less sensitive at picking it up.
Government recommendations for using at-home tests haven’t changed.
People should continue to use them when a quick result is important.
“The bottom line is the tests still detect COVID-19 whether it is delta or alpha or omicron,” says Dr Emily Volk, president of the College of American Pathologists.
Government scientists have been checking to make sure the rapid tests still work as each new variant comes along.
And this week, the Food and Drug Administration said preliminary research indicates they detect omicron, but may have reduced sensitivity.
The agency noted it’s still studying how the tests perform with the variant, which was first detected in late November.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious disease expert, said the FDA wanted to be “totally transparent” by noting the sensitivity might come down a bit, but that the tests remain important.
There are many good uses for at-home tests, Volk says.
Combined with vaccination, they can make you more comfortable about gathering with family and friends.
If you’ve been exposed to a person who tested positive but you don’t have symptoms, a rapid test five days later can give a good indication of whether you caught the virus.
It can also help if you’re not sure whether your runny nose or sore throat is COVID-19.
But consider the context when looking at results.
If you feel sick after going out to a nightclub in an area with high infection rates, for example, you should look at a negative result from an at-home test with a little more scepticism, Volk says.
Following up with a PCR test is a good idea, she says.
Those tests are more accurate and are done at testing sites and hospitals.
COVID situation worsens in US
Costumed revellers will mark the beginning of New Orleans’ annual Carnival season this week with a ride on a historic streetcar, carrying out a cherished tradition despite recent surges in COVID-19 infections.
A Monday announcement from the Phunny Phorty Phellows organisation says participants “will be wearing masks covering their mouths as well as their eyes” when their streetcar rumbles down the tracks on Thursday night.
Carnival season begins each year on Jan 6, the 12th night after Christmas.
It ends with nearly two weeks of opulent parades that culminate on Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, which falls on March 1 this year.
Festivities, including major parades that bring thousands to the streets, were largely cancelled in 2021.
There had been concerns that the 2020 Mardi Gras celebration had been an unintended “super spreader” of coronavirus in the early days of the pandemic.
This year, city officials are moving ahead with plans for major parades in February, with precautions including vaccine or testing requirements for float riders and customers of bars, restaurants and other public places.
Louisiana’s governor said last week that the state is setting records for new COVID-19 diagnoses, and the omicron variant surge is just beginning.
Hospitalisations for COVID-19 continue rising rapidly in Mississippi as new cases proliferate.
The state Health Department reported that 695 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 were hospitalised Sunday.
That is up from 265 hospitalised two weeks earlier, on Dec 19.
The department also reported Monday that 17,525 new cases of the virus were confirmed in the state from Thursday through Sunday.
These are some of the highest numbers in months.
Kansas has reported a record seven-day average for new confirmed and probable COVID-19 cases.
State health department data released Monday showed that Kansas reported an average of 3,134 new COVID-19 cases a day for the seven days ending Monday.
That’s 13% higher than the previous record of 2,767 cases per day for the seven days ending Nov.18, 2020.
Kansas has now reported more than 534,000 cases for the pandemic or more than one for every six of its 2.9 million residents.
The state also averaged 38 new COVID-19 hospitalizations and 11 new reported deaths a day for the seven days ending Monday.
The new numbers came as the state starts to see reports of the omicron variant spreading.
While the average for new hospitalizations isn’t a record, hospitals are still under stress, both because of new patients and infections among employees.
Arizona health officials on Monday reported the highest number of new COVID-19 cases in a year.
The 14,192 new cases were the most ever tallied in a day except for Jan 3, 2020, when more than 17,000 cases were counted.
The state Health Services Department said the new case count was boosted by lower than normal reporting on Sunday, when just 701 new cases were reported.
However, the state said there has been a steep upward trend of cases in recent days.
According to Johns Hopkins University data, the seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Arizona has risen sharply over the past two weeks from 2,945 new cases per day on Dec 18 to 5,051 new cases per day on Jan 1.
The state reported no new deaths on Monday and just one on Sunday, bringing the total number of people who died from the virus in Arizona since the pandemic began in early 2020 to 24,355.
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