variant of COVID-19 a patient has, scientists typically must use whole-genome sequencing, which is time-consuming and expensive, relying on sophisticated equipment and analysis to spell out the entire RNA sequence contained in the viruses.
Scientists pointed out, in that sense CoVarScan can play a game-changing role. Compared to whole-genome sequencing, CoVarScan had 96% sensitivity and 99% specificity.
It identified and differentiated Delta, Mu, Lambda, and Omicron variants of COVID-19, including the BA.2 version of Omicron, once known as "stealth Omicron" because it did not show up on some tests designed to detect only the Omicron strain. "A common critique of this kind of test is that it requires constant adjustment for new variants, but CoVarScan has not needed any adjustment in more than a year; it is still performing very well," said Dr.
SoRelle. "In the future, if we did need to adjust it, we could easily add as many as 20 or 30 additional hotspots to the test." In early 2021, Dr.