‘This Time We Got Lucky': Virus Variants Reveal Gaps in Tracking

New Covid-19 variants that appear to spread easier than the original strain are sparking concerns that the U.S. system for tracking the virus isn’t keeping pace with mutations.

Some scientists say that even though testing works now, health officials need to be better prepared for variants down the road or risk not being able to properly detect the SARS-Cov-2 virus. They’re calling on the Biden administration to invest more in genomic sequencing, a process that involves collecting the DNA blueprint of an organism.

A new mutation that can hide from a common testing procedure, like the variant that surfaced in ...