From the UNL COVID-19 Digest:
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s saliva-based testing program will begin assessments for COVID-19 variants.
Requested by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, the virus sequencing will be completed through the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory. It will include saliva samples that test positive for the virus through the university’s testing program.
Saliva samples that test negative through on-campus testing will continue to be disposed of after three days, following established biological safety protocols. A similar process will be followed by the state lab after completing testing for COVID-19 variants.
Individuals whose samples are positive for a variant will be notified by their local county health department. In most cases, it will be reported by the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department.
If variants are found in the campus samples, they will be reported to the public.
All viruses — including the one that causes COVID-19 — evolve over time. As the virus replicates, the copies sometimes change, causing a mutation. A virus with one or multiple mutations is referred to as a “variant” of the original. Some mutations affect the way a virus interacts with its host.
Groups of mutations have resulted in new versions of the COVID-19 virus. These variants have become dominant in regions of the world and are now circulating in the United States.
Health officials are working to track and study variants to determine severity, infection rates and if current vaccines remain effective against the changing virus.
Whole virus genome sequencing is required to identify variants in a sample. Early identification of variants also will allow health officials to conduct thorough case investigations and contact tracing, increasing the chance to limit spread in the community. Tracking of variants also can provide information that better allows healthcare facilities to prepare for any patient increases.
All individual results from the university’s COVID-19 testing program will continue to be private. Those results are reported securely to students, instructors and staff through the Safer Community app and the university’s online testing portal.
On-campus test results are used by the university’s Public Health Advocacy Team to guide contact tracing and to mitigate spread. The results are also reported — as required by law — to the Lincoln-Lancaster Health Department and Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.
Learn more about the university’s COVID-19 testing program and ongoing response to the global pandemic.