To detect omicron, take a COVID-19 test at home just before a holiday gathering, experts say
Friends and families who rely on quick COVID-19 tests at home to celebrate the holiday in a safe way should do these tests as close to the point of arrival as possible, and not one or two days earlier or even the morning of it.
The standard thinking until now has been that performing a quick test one to three days before an event, such as an international flight or a party, was enough to demonstrate that someone was not ill at the time of the test.
Rapid or antigen tests can detect if you have a current infection, although they are considered less sensitive than PCR tests.
But the new omicron variant, which is driving the increase in cases in the US, has changed that mindset. This variant is more transmissible, has a shorter incubation period than other strains, causes breakthrough infections among vaccinated people, and it affects the United States at the beginning of the holiday season.
“There have been many examples where you may test negative in the morning, but you may be tested positive in the afternoon or evening,”[ads1]; said Rachael Piltch-Loeb, an associate professor of research at the NYU School of Global Public Health and a Harvard emergency preparedness fellow at Chvard. School of Public Health.
One of these examples comes from an office party in Oslo at the end of November. 81 out of 110 people who attended the party had confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19, according to preliminary research published on 16 December. Everyone who attended the party was fully vaccinated, primarily with mRNA syringes, even though no one had received a booster. Each person had to get a negative test one to two days before the party.
“It’s a really dramatic transfer,” Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist and director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, told SiriusXM last week. “This thing goes through red lights at 300 miles an hour.”
This is why some public health experts instead suggest that it is better to conduct quick home tests within minutes of arriving at a collection of some kind.
“I would argue that a much more reliable result, even in the middle of the omicron, is a test taken 15 minutes before entering a collection,” said Dr. Michael Mina, an epidemiologist who recently left Harvard to join eMed, which marketer at home. COVID-19 tests, as head of science.
Mina said this on Tuesday during a press conference.
Not only is omicron believed to be more transmissible than other SARS-CoV-2 strains, it is also believed to have a much shorter incubation period, of two to three days, compared to four days for delta and approximately five days for the original strain of the virus. . Within weeks of omicron’s discovery in the US, it is already the most dominant version of the virus in the US
“It replicates incredibly fast,” Piltch-Loeb said. “That is why we see shorter incubation periods with this variant. And that’s also why our protocol for using rapid tests should be a little different. “
The emergence of this particularly annoying variant on its way into the second pandemic holiday has renewed the COVID-19 anxiety for some people and raised broader questions about how best to use tools such as home tests. Although considered a positive addition to the pandemic toolbox, quick home tests are also expensive, at least $ 10 per test, and not always easy to find on store shelves.
Experts say the tools that have been available all year – vaccination, testing, use of outdoor areas to collect, if possible, and masking – still work. We just need to make some adjustments, especially how we use and deliver fast home tests.
Mina advises people to perform quick tests in their cars in the driveway when they come to a party or gathering and to keep the tests at room temperature, and says that cold temperatures can damage efficiency.
“There is a real need to be able to live life in the safest possible way, while moving forward,” he said. “Rapid testing is one of the most powerful tools that has not really been used in a powerful way in this pandemic.”
The White House said Tuesday that it plans to offer 500 million free quick home tests to people in the United States, starting in January.
At the same time, the exponential growth in new COVID-19 cases over the past week has driven the demand for home tests, including Abbott Laboratories’ ABT,
BinaxNOW, iHealth Labs. Inc.’s home antigen test, and Quidel Corp. sin QDEL,
QuickVue At-Home test. (The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that BinaxNOW and QuickVue antigen tests can detect omicron as well as other variants.)
Many pharmacy chains that perform home covid-19 tests say that they see a unique demand for these products right now. Some tests are not available for purchase online. The stores say that they can be found on the shelves, even though purchases are now limited.
As of Tuesday, CVS Health Corp. CVS,
said it limits the purchase to six home tests per order. Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. WBA,
has a limit of four home tests per purchase, and Walmart Inc. WMT,
limits orders to 8 test sets, according to statements from each company. On Wednesday morning, several tests were sold out online at these chains.
People can also get personal rapid or PCR tests at clinics and mobile test sites; But in regions that are experiencing surges, such as New York City, it can sometimes take hours to get a test, and the results can be delayed.
“I personally think we are well past the days of standing in line,” Mina said. ‘And I’m completely discouraged to drive down Boston [Street] and see people standing in line in the cold to get a PCR test because they can not get a quick test anywhere. “
Read more about MarketWatch’s coverage of fast, home-covid-19 tests:
“This is a critical moment,” says Biden, as he rolls out free, home COVID tests as omicron spreads
Biden plans to distribute 500 million home COVID-19 test kits. Here are the states and cities that already offer free tests.
Is it safe to travel for Christmas when the omicron spreads? Here are 5 steps to stay healthy during your vacation
