{"id":1169023,"date":"2021-12-29T11:04:44","date_gmt":"2021-12-29T16:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1169023"},"modified":"2021-12-29T11:04:47","modified_gmt":"2021-12-29T16:04:47","slug":"rapid-covid-tests-may-be-less-accurate-with-omicron-fda-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rapid-covid-tests-may-be-less-accurate-with-omicron-fda-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Rapid COVID Tests May Be Less Accurate With Omicron, FDA Says"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frapid-covid-tests-may-be-less-accurate-with-omicron-fda-says%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1169023&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Omicron is dodgy.<\/p>\n<p>Rapid COVID-19 tests may be less effective at detecting the Omicron variant than earlier strains of the virus, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe finding was gleaned from preliminary studies conducted by the FDA in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health\u2019s RADx program on the performance of the at-home tests on the heavily mutated Omicron variant,\u201d the New York Post <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/12\/29\/fda-says-rapid-covid-tests-may-be-less-accurate-with-omicron\/\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEarly data suggests that antigen tests do detect the omicron variant but may have reduced sensitivity\u201d at detecting positive cases, the FDA said in a Tuesday statement. \u201cThe FDA and RADx are continuing to further evaluate the performance of antigen tests using patient samples with live virus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But the FDA didn\u2019t urge people to avoid using antigen tests.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe FDA continues to authorize the use of these tests as directed in the authorized labeling and individuals should continue to use them in accordance with the instructions included with the tests,\u201d the agency said. \u201cAntigen tests are generally less sensitive and less likely to pick up very early infections compared to molecular tests.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The FDA did urge follow-up testing for those who test negative with a rapid antigen test but are experiencing symptoms.&nbsp;\u201cIf a person tests positive with an antigen test, they should self-isolate and seek follow-up care with a health care provider to determine the next steps,\u201d the FDA said.<\/p>\n<p>But many who contract the virus will never know.&nbsp;A recent study said that while the Omicron variant could infect some 140 million Americans by March, the majority of people who contract the variant might be asymptomatic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are expecting an enormous surge in infections \u2026 so, an enormous spread of Omicron,\u201d said Dr. Chris Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/health\/2021\/12\/22\/covid-omicron-variant-ihme-models-predict-140-m-new-infections-winter\/8967421002\/\">according<\/a> to USA Today.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTotal infections in the U.S. we forecast are going from about 40% of the U.S. having been infected so far, to having in the next two to three months, 60% of the U.S. getting infected with Omicron,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>But the researchers at the institute said that while the variant appears to be more contagious than the Delta variant, it does not appear to be as strong. They predict Omicron will lead to fewer deaths and hospitalizations. \u201cOmicron\u2019s hospitalization rate is about 90 to 96 percent lower than Delta, which rampaged through much of the US in August,\u201d the Daily Mail <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-10337845\/Enormous-spread-Omicron-cause-140-MILLION-new-infections-January-1-March-1.html\">reported<\/a> on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more, up to 90% of those who contract the variant will never know they have Omicron, the Mail reported.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe majority will show no symptoms and have fewer hospitalizations and deaths compared to previous surges as Omicron is believed to be milder,\u201d the U.K. paper reported.<\/p>\n<p>The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which operates much like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found that those who contract Omicron are less likely to become severely ill compared to people who get the Delta variant, according to the data, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/newsletter\/london-playbook\/scoop-omicron-milder-in-uk-new-years-fireworks-liz-vs-no-10\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Politico<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n<p><em>Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent, and ran the Drudge Report from 2010 to 2015. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\">member<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Omicron is dodgy. Rapid COVID-19 tests may be less effective at detecting the Omicron variant than earlier strains of the virus, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday. \u201cThe finding was gleaned from preliminary studies conducted by the FDA in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health\u2019s RADx program on the performance of the &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":159,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1169023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1169023"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169023\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1169023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1169023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1169023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}