COVID-19 Tests Can Accurately Identify New Virus Variants, Some Lab Companies Claim

By Mary Anne R. (staff@latinpost.com) First Posted: Feb 10, 2021 04:16 AM EST

A paramedic conducts prepares a throat swab sample for a rapid antigen test at a Covid-19 testing station set up in the temporarily closed RiLANA fashion store during the coronavirus pandemic on February 3, 2021 in Berlin, Germany. Covid testing stations have sprung up in a variety of perhaps unexpected places in Berlin, including the RiLANA store, a church, an art gallery and a bar, among others. (Photo : Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

The leading testing companies and laboratories in the United States said their COVID-19 tests are ready to accurately identify new virus variants as they emerge.

According to an ABC News report, two of the largest test processing laboratories in the country, Quest Diagnostics and LabCorp., said they had not reported any changes to the accuracy of their testing data with false negatives from the U.K. COVID-19 strain.

Medical device and health care company, Abbott, said its BinaxNOW tests are still working as promised. Abbott is the company that produced rapid tests bought in large numbers by the U.S. government.

Dr. Mary Rodgers, Abbott's principal scientist and head of infectious disease research, told ABC News that the company has continued to keep track of the new variants as they continue to emerge.

"We've been bringing in samples to confirm our prediction based on the sequences, which indicate that there's no cause for concern for any of our Abbott tests," Rodgers said.

As COVID-19 Variants Spread, Do They Complicate Testing?

Three variants originating in the U.K., Brazil and South Africa, have been reported in the U.S., which raised concerns that as the virus continues to mutate, the country's current tests to detect the virus might become less accurate.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier sent a notice to health care providers with a caution that the potential of future strains impacting testing accuracy is still possible.

The letter added that the variants could lead to false negatives in PCR tests and that tests for detecting multiple SARS-CoV-2 genetic targets "are less susceptible."

Public health experts said that such concerns from the federal government are legitimate and should push testing companies to review if their tests can detect variants that are not yet reported.

"It is highly likely that future COVID-19 strains will remain detectable because we design our tests to be robust, knowing that virus mutations will naturally occur over time," Abbott said in the report.

COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout

The U.S. government will start shipping supplies of COVID-19 vaccines directly to community health centers instead of state governments next week, according to a Reuters report.

Health officials said this was in line with the government's efforts to speed vaccinations and to ensure doses are reaching vulnerable people. The government will send doses to 250 centers nationwide that will be based on nearness to vulnerable groups like homeless people and those with limited English proficiency.

Health officials noted that the federal government would initially distribute one million vaccine shots and would increase from there. The program, which will eventually be expanded to over 1,300 community health centers, is part of President Joe Biden's initiative to increase access to COVID-19 doses.

Meanwhile, Walgreens is part of a federal pharmacy program that would ship doses directly to drugstores this week. The pharmacy chain plans to start COVID-19 vaccinations this Friday at some of its stores in 15 states, including Chicago and New York City, CNBC reported.

However, all those pharmacies will get a limited supply, and shots will be available to Americans, who are on the high-priority list.

Tags COVID-19 tests, Variants