FOI Ref: FOI/2021/3366
You asked
Please supply the following information on the newly discovered Omicron variant:
1) How was the new strain discovered and what test is being used to determine cases?
2) Has this new strain been isolated and purified through the Koch postulate? And if so could you provide the relevant data please?
3) If this is a different strain, how does booster that existed before Omicron was discovered, protect against it?
4) Or has the booster been modified to tackle the new strain?
We said
Thank you for your request.
The COVID-19 Infection Survey is a household survey that estimates the number of people testing positive for infection and for antibodies in the UK. Our statistics refer to the number of current COVID-19 infections within the population living in private residential households. We exclude those in hospitals, care homes and/or other communal establishments. In communal establishments, rates of COVID-19 infection are likely to be different.
Within the COVID-19 Infection Survey, the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) is identified using the results of the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests. The Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) of coronavirus (COVID-19) has changes in one of the three genes that coronavirus PCR tests detect, known as the S-gene. This means in cases compatible with the Omicron variant, the S-gene is no longer detected by the current test. When there is a high viral load (for example, when a person is most infectious), absence of the S-gene in combination with the presence of the other two genes (ORF1ab and N-genes) is a reliable indicator of the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529).
For more information, please see analysis of viral load and variants of COVID-19 in the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Survey, UK bulletin. In order to ensure timely results this method is used to show Omicron-compatible results. In addition, the virus genetic material from positive samples is sent for whole genome sequencing at Northumbria University, to find out more about the different types of virus and variants of virus circulating in the UK. For more information, please see section 4 (processing the data) of our methods article COVID-19 Infection Survey: methods and further information. The sequenced data can be found in tab 1e of our latest COVID-19 Infection Survey technical dataset.
We do not hold data on how the Omicron variant was discovered or whether the strain has been isolated and purified through the Koch postulate.
Please note the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA, formerly Public Health England) are responsible for NHS Test and Trace. For more information on the government testing programme, you can visit the GOV.UK coronavirus dashboard or contact UKHSA via email at informationrights@ukhsa.gov.uk.
We also do not hold data about how coronavirus vaccines protect against the Omicron variant or about modifications to vaccines.
Further information and an overview of data about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic from the Office for National Statistic (ONS) and other sources can be found in our Coronavirus (COVID-19) latest insights tool.