According to media reports, German researchers are planning to investigate how well fast antigen testing might detect the highly transmissible Omicron type of Covid-19.
On Sunday, health minister Karl Lauterbach was quoted on public radio channel ARD as saying, “We don’t know exactly how effectively these tests function for Omicron.” Lauterbach also stated that the assessment’s conclusions would be accessible in the coming weeks.
According to the Robert Koch Institute for Infectious Diseases (RKI), Omicron is now responsible for 44% of coronavirus infections in Germany, according to the Guardian. Within 24 hours on Sunday, RKI had 36,552 new Covid infections, which was three times the number a week before.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement late last month stating that fast antigen testing appear to be less sensitive to Omicron than prior variations. The FDA stated at the time that “early data suggests that antigen testing do detect the Omicron form but may have reduced sensitivity.”
Omicron was identified in late November in South Africa and Botswana. Since then, the rapidly spreading strain has been discovered in over 100 nations.
Source: IANS
