Why you’ll never know if you have the Delta or Omicron variant, even if you test positive!
Health officials track coronavirus cases based on their variants, but it’s likely that most people who test positive will never know which variant they contracted – here’s why:
Will you never know which Corona variant you had?
National and international health authorities need to know how the virus is circulating in order to assess the state of an outbreak and respond. Experts line up different cases one by one to learn how quickly each variant circulates, what impact it has on therapeutics and vaccines, and how severe the illnesses it causes are. However, this information is rarely shared on a case-by-case basis.
One reason individuals usually do not know which variant caused their positive test is that sequencing is not done where a person is tested. In the US, for example, the results of a PCR or antigen test are sent to the laboratories of local health departments or the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for genome sequencing.
Process can take weeks
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In this sequencing process, scientists decode genes to track how SARS-CoV-2 has morphed into new variants over time and how those variants spread. This process can take several weeks and does not affect every case, and it is not necessary at this point for a person to know which variant is behind the infection.
The precautions a person should take to prevent the spread of the virus do not differ from variant to variant, meaning that whether a person is infected with Delta, Omicron, or another variant, each positive test should be treated the same.
Whatever the variant – go into quarantine!
Regardless of vaccination status, people who test positive for coronavirus should isolate themselves for 10 days, according to the CDC. Day one begins the day after symptoms appear or the day after a positive test if symptoms develop.
Although Omicron has been shown to cause milder illness than Delta so far, the first death from Omicron has been reported in the United Kingdom, and health officials warn against complacency. Although most people only become mildly ill, there are some who become seriously ill. Regardless of the variant, an infected person should seek medical attention if they have difficulty breathing, low blood oxygen levels, or other worrisome symptoms.
Delta Continues to Prevail
Delta continues to be the predominant variant in the United States, so recent cases are likely to have been caused by this strain rather than Omikron. Omicron cases have been detected in more than half the states, however, and health officials believe it is possible that this variant is transmissible enough to replace Delta as the predominant variant.
Omicron accounted for 2.9 percent of sequenced coronavirus cases in the United States in the week ended last Sunday, an increase from 0 percent the previous week. Delta accounted for nearly 97 percent of other sequenced cases, according to the CDC.
While most people do not know which variant they were infected with, some people who were among the first cases of Omicron in the United States have been told they tested positive for it