“...an infelicitous mispronunciation”!
Brilliant!
I’ve writing it down and will save it for the opportune moment
***Not my information***
What Laboratories Should Know:
There are no authorized, cleared, or approved diagnostic tests to specifically detect SARS-CoV-2 variants (Omicron or other variants). Currently, COVID-19 tests are designed and authorized to check broadly for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, not for specific variants.
The Omicron variant has a deletion in the spike (S) gene (Δ69-70). Some molecular tests with multiple genetic targets include a target covering the portion of the S gene where the deletion occurs. The presence of this mutation can result in an S-gene target failure (SGTF, also referred to as an S-gene drop out). The S-gene target will fail (return as negative) while other targets are expected to remain positive in the presence of this virus. SGTF can signal the need for sequencing to characterize the variant in a specimen.
SGTF has been observed in other variants and thus is not specific to the Omicron variant.