It is not easy to identify the variants of COVID in the US.

Everyone talks about the delta variant being more lethal and the delta variant omicron it is more transmissible. But how can I know which variant I have?

If one gets COVID-19, there are many reasons why we might wonder which variant we contracted. Initial data suggest, for example, that an omicron infection provides better immunity against not only another case of omicron, but also other variants such as delta. And it is true that omicron, although very contagious, seems to be less serious than other variants.

Of course, on a national and global scale, there is a lot of interest in tracking which variants are spreading the fastest. That is why many countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Africa, where the omicron variant was first identified, have increased virus sequencing efforts. Knowing which variant is dominant and understanding its characteristics can help us better respond to the pandemic.

But in USA, says Jeremy Kamil, a microbiologist and immunologist at Louisiana State University Health Shreveport, current federal guidelines prevent laboratories from informing patients or their physicians of the specific results of genome sequencing of their samples. The exception, he says, is Oregon, where a law stipulates that if a state lab orders sequencing of their sample, the patient can get the result.

But that would mean your sample would have to have been sequenced in the first place. The US is only sequencing a fraction of patient samples. Standard COVID tests can only determine if one is positive or negative.

“No test can say for sure which variant you have without complete sequencing of the viral genome,” Kamil said.

But he says there are a number of reasons people should be given that information.

“Without a doubt, these regulations, while well-intentioned, hold back genomic monitoring in the US,” Kamil commented. “We want people to share samples. So it must be disheartening not being able to give them any data.”

In addition, he added that if someone becomes seriously ill from the virus, data sequencing could save their life. Most US-licensed monoclonal antibody treatments, for example, still work in delta but not in omicron.

“Knowing someone is hospitalized with delta and not omicron could open up access to life-saving therapies,” he said. That means we should also look for sequencing to become more common.

“Frankly, it’s shameful that we’re not taking advantage of the latest rapid sequencing technology to save lives,” he said.