Omicron continues to make it harder for governments to fight to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Antigenic screening tests for Covid-19, which have the advantage of delivering a result in just a few minutes, are less sensitive to this variant than to previous variants, the US health authorities warned on Tuesday.

Concretely, this means that these tests are more likely to indicate a negative result despite an infection - the famous false negatives - if a person is infected with the Omicron variant.

"Preliminary data suggests that antigenic tests detect the Omicron variant well, but with reduced sensitivity," said the US Medicines Agency (FDA).

However, the Agency specified that it would continue to authorize their use, following the precise instructions for use.

“If a person tests negative with an antigen test, but is suspected of having Covid-19, for example having symptoms or a high probability of infection from exposure, follow-up with a molecular test ( or PCR) is important, ”the FDA noted.

PCR tests at the top of reliability

Antigen tests detect antigens on the surface of the virus, while PCR tests look for the genetic material of the virus. The former were already less sensitive than the latter. And their sensitivity is now affected due to the many mutations of the Omicron variant.

Even so, antigen tests, sometimes called rapid tests, are widely promoted by experts because they can be done regularly at home for little cost and thus help control the epidemic.

In the United States, these increasingly popular home test kits have recently come to an end with the very sharp rise in contamination linked to Omicron and with the end of the year celebrations.

Last week, President Joe Biden announced the purchase of 500 million take-home rapid tests, which can be ordered by Americans through a dedicated website, starting in January.

Politics

The Council of State cautious about the vaccine pass, the bill arrives in committee

Health

Does Emmanuel Macron manage the health crisis Boris Johnson way?

  • Covid 19

  • Omicron variant

  • Video

  • Coronavirus

  • Health

  • Screening

  • United States

  • 0 comment

  • 0 share

    • Share on Messenger

    • Share on Facebook

    • Share on twitter

    • Share on Flipboard

    • Share on Pinterest

    • Share on Linkedin

    • Send by Mail

  • To safeguard

  • A fault ?

  • To print