Florida omicron sequencing misses the big picture

Being able to detect the omicron COVID-19 variant through sewage testing without finding confirmed cases in a county may seem contradictory, but experts say that’s not necessarily true.

Alan Harris, the Seminole County emergency manager, said states like Florida are sequencing far fewer cases of the virus than would be necessary for a good representation of the spread of omicron.

“If you have a hundred new positive cases in Seminole County, we can sequence about four or five,” Harris said. “So based on the four or five, we’re assuming that’s a representation of the hundred. This is not a very good assumption.

Harris described the process of finding the new variant while it is still in the early stages of its spread in central Florida as “luck of the draw.” He noted that you need a lot of samples over time to fully understand whether the omicron will overtake the delta as the dominant variant in the state.

Spectrum News 13 has contacted officials from several county health departments who said Florida state-controlled labs are responsible for all genomic sequencing.

Florida Department of Health (FDOH) press secretary Jeremy Redfern said the state operates three labs and the Bureau of Epidemiology is monitoring SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19) variants. He said as of December 9, 70% of eligible Floridians had been vaccinated.

As of December 14, the CDC determined that the counties in central Florida are at the following transmission levels:

• Low – N / A
• Moderate – Brevard, Marion, Sumter
• Substantial – Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Volusia
• High – N / A

The CDC recommends that “Regardless of the level of transmission, unvaccinated people should pursue prevention measures, including wearing a mask in indoor public places.” Harris pointed out that because the state of Florida has banned masks and vaccines, it ties their hands together and puts more pressure on groups and organizations to encourage voluntary vaccinations.

“Public education is the message,” he said.

He added that the vaccine and the booster are the most effective tools to protect individuals and those around them from the disease.

University of Florida hospital epidemiologist Dr Kartik Cherabuddi echoed the sentiment. He said knowing which variant is dominant is important to the medical community when it comes to treating someone positive for COVID-19.

“The monoclonal antibody we used for delta doesn’t seem to work as well for omicron. So you have to use a different kind of monoclonal antibody, ”Cherabuddi said. “The US government has already purchased enough of the new monoclonal antibody. It has been authorized for months.

“It has been, I believe, already shipped to Florida and will be available this week, in a few days.”

Regarding when Central Florida could see a larger increase in the omicron variant, Cherabuddi said it will likely happen in mid-January, after the holidays. He said it may have been more of a combination of delta and omicron, rather than omicron taking over completely.