The Omicron variant is putting America's coronavirus sequencing efforts to the test

Rows of scientists sit before racks of coronavirus samples inside a laboratory in Henderson, North Carolina, wearing face masks and scrubs. All hours of the day and night, they transfer the samples from tubes to processing plates, searching for answers about the virus behind these Covid-19 cases.

"We want to sequence as much as possible," Moon said. This lab has not yet detected Omicron variant positive tests, but cases are starting to emerge in several states. For now, almost all US Covid-19 cases are driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant, but on Wednesday, the first US Omicron case was identified in California. Then came another in Minnesota, then Colorado, more in New York City and in Hawaii. More are expected.

The types of tests -- diagnostic and sequencing -- are done separately. Polymerase chain reaction or PCR testing makes the process easier. Quick antigen tests are not used to detect variants, nor are tests people take on their own at home. "Back in January, the numbers were quite low. It was really I think under half a percent in terms of the Covid infections that were prevalent were getting sequenced," said Dr. Ingrid Katz, associate faculty director of the Harvard Global Health Institute and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School.

These labs"are sequencing between 15,000 and 20,000 specimens per week. That number is four times greater than just a year ago," Becker said. There's also room for improvement, wrote Starita, research assistant professor in the department of genome sciences at the University of Washington and co-director of the Brotman Baty Advanced Technology Lab.

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