How do we know which variant?

[Cissyandflora]

How is this data collected? From pcrs? Is the data then shared with the patient? This must have been answered but I can’t find it. How do we know what we have?

They don't tell you any more, but they do sequence a certain percentage so those are the figures they use. It's something like over 80% now.

So they take a sample from pcrs? Or from people in hospital? Sorry I’m not thinking properly with strange covid dizziness.

And do you mean it’s 80 pc of those tested that have the new version? Or they test 80 pc

They are estimating over 89% have omicron. I pr sume they test a small percentage & estimate from that.

80%

Yes, it's from tests on the samples that are sent for PCR tests.

Some labs can detect possible Omicron when they run the PCR test because one of the virus genes the PCR detects is missing (aka an s gene dropout test - see this WHO explanation - it depends on the type of PCR test the lab runs). There are other genotyping tests too that can be subsequently run on positive PCR samples which take 1-2 days that might also flag "probable" Omicron.

Omicron is only definite if the positive PCR sample is subsequently sequenced, which isn't done on 100% of them and might take a week (likely more now given the volume of PCRs), so the figures are always retrospective. Scientists can estimate from the proportion of those sequenced that are shown to be Omicron what the likely true infection rate is.

They take a percentage of all pcrs (not just those from patients in hospital) and check these to see if omicron or not.

Some graphs here twitter.com/olihawkins/status/1476135752710995969?s=21

Thank you all. I feel that I’m struggling to think clearly. I’ve had covid but it’s all very weird.