COVID-19 Symptoms and Duration of Rapid Antigen Test Positivity at a Community Testing and Surveillance Site During Pre-Delta, Delta, and Omicron BA.1 Periods
Carina Marquez, MD, MPH; Andrew D. Kerkhoff, MD, PhD; John Schrom, MPH; Susana Rojas; Douglas Black, BA; Anthea Mitchell, BA; Chung-Yu Wang, BA; Genay Pilarowski, PhD; Salustiano Ribeiro, MS; Diane Jones, RN; Joselin Payan; Simone Manganelli, MS; Susy Rojas, BS; Jonathan Lemus, BA; Vivek Jain, MD; Gabriel Chamie, MD; Valerie Tulier-Laiwa, JD; Maya Petersen, MD, PhD; Joseph DeRisi, PhD; Diane V. Havlir, MD

JAMA Network, 2022

Abstract: Importance: Characterizing the clinical symptoms and evolution of community-based SARS-CoV-2 infections may inform health practitioners and public health officials in a rapidly changing landscape of population immunity and viral variants. Objectives: To compare COVID-19 symptoms among people testing positive with a rapid antigen test (RAT) during the Omicron BA.1 variant period (December 1, 2021, to January 30, 2022) with the pre-Delta (January 10 to May 31, 2021) and Delta (June 1 to November 30, 2021) variant periods and to assess the duration of RAT positivity during the Omicron BA.1 surge. Design, setting, and participants: This cross-sectional study was conducted from January 10, 2021, to January 31, 2022, at a walk-up community COVID-19 testing site in San Francisco, California. Participants included children and adults seeking COVID-19 testing with an RAT, regardless of age, vaccine status, or symptoms.