Tests for Omicron will be up to 30% more expensive now.

The new test system, which identifies the Omicron strain, will be 20-30% more expensive than the tests used now. It was developed by scientists of Novosibirsk and St. Petersburg, TASS reported , citing one of the developers. When using a new test system, the patient does not have to make two tests-for Omicron and other Covid-19 options.

One of the developers, the molecular biologist and director of the company Modern Laboratory Technologies Evgeny Puchkovsky said that the test system is registered in Novosibirsk. It simultaneously reveals the presence of a genetic material of coronavirus infection and determines whether it refers to Omicron. The study takes 1 hour 25 minutes.

Employees of the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, a resident of the Novosibirsk Biotechnology Park company Modern Laboratory Technologies and employees of the department of clinical biochemistry and laboratory diagnostics of the S. M. Kirov Medical Academy worked on the creation of the test.

"In order to create a new one on the basis of a working test system, we added another enzyme and new probes oriented towards a specific identification of 3 out of 10 mutations inherent exclusively by Omicron-Stamm. This, of course, influenced the cost of a medical product. We expect that the test will be 20-30% more than a simple Coronavirus test," said Pechkovsky.

Doctors drew attention to the developers that it is important to quickly identify Omicron, since this variant of the virus spreads faster than others in the population, as well as because its early detection will allow the patient to cure with less effort.

• On January 14, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova reported that more than 780 cases of Omcron infection were registered in Russia. 53% of cases are in Moscow.
• Last week, the infection of the Omcron was detected in Tuva, the Irkutsk region and Yakutia. So far, five people are in three regions.
• Since the beginning of the pandemic coronavirus infection in the world, about 320.2 million people became infected, about 5.5 million died. In Russia, according to the Federal Operational Staff, 10.7 million cases of infection were registered, 9.8 million people recovered, 320 thousand patients died.

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