India to Scale Up Omicron Scrutiny After Second Wave Horrors
- Country rolling out rapid sequencing for airport arrivals
- State-funded body aims to isolate omicron for vaccine makers
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India will bolster Covid-19 genome sequencing efforts, hoping early detection of the newly-emerged omicron variant will help avoid a repeat of the delta-fueled wave of infections that brought its health system close to collapse earlier this year.
Public health officials aim to analyze positive tests from airports within 48 hours and a dozen laboratories may be added to the current 28 that are part of the Indian SARs-COV-2 Genomics Consortium, or INSACOG, according to Priya Abraham, director of India’s National Institute of Virology.