The British variant and the Omicron

Working in close cooperation with the Ministry of Health and the Home Front Command, Shamir’s Genomic Center, headed by Dr. Nir Rainy, is contributing to the nation-wide effort to identify new Covid variants and eradicate the pandemic. “The core of our work is on the corona virus, with our laboratory responsible for 50% of the genomic sequencing conducted in Israel,” says Dr. Rainy. “The British variant and the Omicron were first identified (in Israel) in our lab, which performs hundreds of sequencing tests daily. We are working around the clock to identify new variants; such discoveries are game-changers in fighting Covid.” Dr. Adina Bar Chaim, Director Shamir Medical Center’s Clinical Labs, says: “This is biotech at the highest level possible, not many countries can conduct sequencing in a matter of days, as we did with the Omicron.”