By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
Jan 8 (Reuters) - Genetic variants of the novel coronavirus, including the one found in UK, could impact the performance of some molecular COVID-19 tests and lead to false negative results, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Friday.
The agency has alerted clinical laboratory staff and health care providers to the possible false negative results from any molecular test, and has asked them to consider such results in combination with clinical observations, and repeat testing with a different test if COVID-19 is still suspected.
The FDA, however, said the risk that these mutations will impact overall testing accuracy is low. (bit.ly/3ost0R6)
(Bloomberg) Top U.S. health officials encouraged states to start vaccinating people more widely, acknowledging that the immunization rollout has been slower than anticipated and opening the spigot for a broader range of Americans to begin getting shots.
CDC foresees spread in U.S. of highly contagious coronavirus variant Joel Achenbach, Ben Guarino
Replay Video The mutant variant of the novel coronavirus first seen in Britain is likely to be present in much of the United States. Although the variant has so far been detected in a very small fraction of infections, it shows signs of spreading and may become significantly more common in coming weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and infectious-disease experts. The cases have been mostly isolated: One in New York, one in Florida, one in Georgia and two in Colorado. The exception has been California, and specifically San Diego County, where a robust surveillance operation has found 32 cases of the variant. National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins told The Washington Post on Wednesday: “I would be surprised if that doesn’t grow pretty rapidly.”
. As the U.S. grapples with record hospitalizations and deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic, a crucial vaccination rollout campaign is being impeded by inconsistent messaging and myriad state strategies as a new variant of the virus drives up infection rates, according to public health experts. The missteps have put the number of vaccinations well behind targets set by the Trump administration s U.S. Operation Warp Speed effort. About 5.46 million doses have been administered in the U.S. since mid-December, or 32% of those that have been distributed across the country and well below the Trump administration s goal of 20 million by the end of 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. Vaccination rates have ranged significantly across states, with South Dakota using 69% of the doses sent to it and Georgia just 22%, according to Bloomberg s data.
US Tops 21 Million COVID-19 Cases With Record Hospitalizations As States Ramp Up Vaccinations moneycontrol.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from moneycontrol.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.