BU Scientists Are Prepared to Detect Omicron—and Other Variants

BU’s National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) has been monitoring COVID-19 variants from BU and Boston Medical Center tests since February

When will the coronavirus variant known as Omicron arrive at BU? Although it’s hard to predict, it seems like a foregone conclusion that it’s only a matter of time given how quickly Omicron has spread around the world—already infecting people in more than 30 countries across 6 continents, and at least 16 US states. On December 4, the first known case of Omicron in Massachusetts was detected in a woman in her 20s who lives in Middlesex County.

One thing’s for certain—if and when Omicron infects a member of BU’s community, its presence will be quickly detected.

The University’s testing program—which screens a pool of all students, faculty, and staff that come to BU’s campuses—hinges upon its Clinical Testing Lab, which was rapidly outfitted with machinery and custom software to screen nasal swabs for coronavirus over the summer of 2020. Fully operational for the last year and a half, it has screened over two million swabs and is capable of processing up to 6,000 coronavirus tests per day.

Read the entire The Brink story by Kat J. McAlpine.