Other researchers have demonstrated the unreliability of some antigen rapid tests with regard to the omicron variant.
Scientists around the virologist Oliver T. Keppler from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich have examined nine tests for the detection of an infection with the omicron or the delta variant.
In the study, which was published in February in the journal "Medical Microbiology and Immunology", the researchers came to the following conclusion: Eight tests had a limited "analytical sensitivity" to detect the omicron variant in contrast to the delta variant.
The study thus comes to the conclusion that the "analytical sensitivity" of rapid antigen tests for omicron cannot simply be derived from the earlier evaluation of the tests for other SARS-CoV-2 variants.
For the investigation, the researchers used samples from patients from hospitals, nursing homes or test centers who were infected with either the delta or the omicron variant.
The swabs were taken during the fourth and fifth waves from October 2021 to January 2022.
In addition, material from cell cultures from a laboratory was used for the comparisons.
As a result of the results, the scientists advise raising "awareness" of the fallibility of the tests.
In addition, a list is urgently needed that names tests that meet the minimum requirements for the detectability of the omicron variant.
According to the German Press Agency, Keppler said: "The one-eyed blind tests for the detection of omicron must now be quickly identified and published by the Paul Ehrlich Institute." About ten easily available tests would be sufficient for this.