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UCSB doctoral candidate develops rapid test that can detect Omicron variant

Amid a worsening Omicron surge, a UC Santa Barbara doctoral student has developed a breakthrough rapid test for the Omicron variant, which can also serve as a template for defense against future COVID-19 mutations. ....

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UCSB, Cottage Health, County Public Health Roll Out Covid Variant Surveillance Collaboration


By Sonia Fernandez for UCSB
March 1, 2021
| 1:30 p.m.
In an effort to get ahead of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants in Santa Barbara County, UC Santa Barbara, Cottage Health and Santa Barbara County Public Health Department (SBCPHD) have launched parallel, collaborative COVID-19 virus variant surveillance projects.
The goal is to determine which recently emerged variants of concern might be present in the local community, and to understand how their distribution changes over time.
“In addition to just basic science interest, knowing more about these variants could also influence our testing strategies, and that could also impact what you could expect about vaccine effectiveness,” said UCSB biologist Stuart Feinstein, who is at the helm of the campus’s asymptomatic COVID-19 testing effort. ....

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More Eyes on the Virus


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In an effort to get ahead of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants in Santa Barbara County, UC Santa Barbara and Cottage Health have launched parallel, collaborative COVID-19 virus variant surveillance projects. The goal is to determine which recently emerged variants of concern might be present in the local community, and to understand how their distribution changes over time.
“In addition to just basic science interest, knowing more about these variants could also influence our testing strategies, and that could also impact what you could expect about vaccine effectiveness,” said UC Santa Barbara biologist Stuart Feinstein, who is at the helm of the campus’s asymptomatic COVID-19 testing effort. ....

South Africa , United States , Santa Barbara County , Lynn Fitzgibbons , Stuart Feinstein , Santa Barbara , Zach Aralis , Melodie Blakemore , Nancy Collins , Centers For Disease , Student Health Services , Santa Barbara County Public Health Department , National Institutes Of Health , Office Of Research , Variant Task Team , Public Health , Student Health , Institutional Review Board At Cottage Health , Student Health Patient Portal , Cottage Health , Local Variant Task Team , Institutional Review Board , Health Services , Carolina Arias , Disease Control , Southern California ,