With questions swirling about how well rapid COVID-19 tests work when it comes to detecting the omicron variant, leading scientists are now reassuring the public that they do work, and have a valuable role to play in the ongoing pandemic.
Among them is Dr. Bruce Tromberg, director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at the NIH, and the top scientist in charge of Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics. RADx, a new government-funded NIH program, was tasked with rapidly increasing the nation's testing capacity and studying how tests perform when faced with new variants.
"The tests are an essential component of what we need, especially in the time of very rapidly expanding omicron," Tromberg said.
While PCR tests are very effective at detecting the presence of even small amounts of virus, rapid tests have become a quick and easy way to determine if a person is contagious. In a Tuesday announcement, the Food and Drug Administration said rapid tests do detect the omicron variant, but in a laboratory setting they did not perform as well as they have with earlier variants.
The FDA announcement, described by one expert as a kind of curveball, lacked specific numbers and sparked confusion and dismay among some experts and Americans who have been using rapid tests to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 to loved ones over the holidays.
Dr. Michael Mina, a vocal advocate for increased rapid testing use and the chief science officer for eMed, told ABC News, "There is no reason and no data to support that the tests are less able to detect omicron virus."
News from the FDA about rapid tests' ability to detect omicron comes on the heels of the Biden Administration's announcement that the U.S. will have 500 million at-home rapid tests available starting January.
But Tromberg said Americans should "absolutely not" be discouraged from using rapid tests based on this FDA announcement, which was based on preliminary laboratory studies on live virus samples combined from multiple patients and run on a relatively small number of rapid test brands.
People line up to take COVID-19 test at a free PCR & RAPID testing site in Chicago, Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021. Illinois has 30,386 new COVID-19 cases diagnosed statewide, public health officials announced Thursday, smashing by more than 9,000 the previous state record for new cases in a day and nearly doubling the high from last fall's surge. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Those tests showed a potential dip in effectiveness, but, "It's not like they fell off the map," he said. The FDA also said more clinical studies are needed.
Preliminary studies conducted in a lab can offer clues, but are not as reliable as real-world studies done on real people. Those real-world clinical studies are currently being conducted, and results should be available shortly, Tromberg said.
He expects clinical studies to show the tests are working at an acceptable level.
"We already know that the clinical performance is better than this laboratory benchtop performance, just in our early studies that we're getting."
"I have confidence that the tests that we have on our shelves can pick up omicron," Tromberg said. "There will be different levels of performance, we need to really work through all of those and understand them for every test."
One reason rapid tests might perform differently is because of the increased infectiousness of the new variant, said Mina.
"Is it that the test is less sensitive, or is the virus more infectious?" he said.
"Omicron is more infectious, and therefore, it is possible that people can start spreading the virus hours or a day before they are testing positive, but after that, the test will still work when people are most infectious just as they have been working throughout the entirety of the pandemic," Mina said.
Even if some rapid test performance is diminished, Tromberg said, "They still can be extremely powerful and effective at interrupting the chain of transmission of the virus."
The FDA has authorized 43 rapid antigen tests including at least a dozen at home versions.
Several testing companies have said their tests still work to detect omicron, with Abbott saying Tuesday that the company has tested the popular BinaxNOW rapid test using the omicron variant from live virus and found the test "performed at equivalent sensitivity" compared to prior variants.
But the FDA said tests could be updated if further testing shows updates are needed.
"Studies are underway to confirm the reason for the apparent decreased sensitivity," FDA spokespersons Stephanie Caccomo said. "Once that is known, adjustments to existing tests can be undertaken by each developer with support from the FDA, if appropriate."
TAMPA BAY, Fla In the past 7 days, Florida has seen more than 206,000 new COVID-19 cases. Thursday, the state hit nearly 58,000 cases in one day alone, and health experts say those numbers are tremendously higher than when delta hit its peak in August 2021.
Just for some context, the delta peak was 21,641. So were nearly 8,000 more a day than at our delta peak in terms of cases, said Dr. Jason Salemi, Associate Professor of Epidemiology at USF College of Public Health.
But when it comes to hospitalizations, while the numbers are up, they arent like what we saw in the summer of 2021.
Two weeks ago, we were at 1,200 adults hospitalized for COVID-19, now the state is at more than 4,433. But for context, once again, in August when delta was at its peak, we had nearly 17,000 people hospitalized for COVID. That's nearly five times higher than versus now. It may be an indication omicron isn't as severe. But Dr. Salemi thinks it could be because we're better at fighting it.
By this point in the pandemic, a lot of people have either been vaccinated, boosted or have had prior infections so if a large percentage of new cases are people who have had some built up immunity it can make it seem as though omicron is less severe but yet it might just be because our immune systems are well adapted to be able to fight against it, he said.
But because of its high transmissibility, even if it is less severe we could still see a high number of hospitalizations. Dr. Salemi points out some of these cases could be incidental positives.
People go to the hospital for other reasons, but once they are tested, they test positive for COVID, he said. Its pretty difficult to wade through all of this data and really get a good handle on how many people are landing in the hospital or the intensive care unit because of this omicron or the existing delta variant.
Its why he thinks hospitals should make their reporting more granular so we have a better idea of whats really happening. He says the best thing we can do right now to protect ourselves and others is get vaccinated and boosted.
Being exposed to a virus and getting infected prior, its much more likely to ramp up your immune system and offer you some sort of protection but that protection is very variable, he said. But I can tell you, my takeaway message to people is even if youve had prior infection, the best thing you can do is to get vaccinated and also implement all of those mitigation strategies.
And while adults still outpace kids when it comes to hospitalizations, the number of kids admitted to the hospital with COVID has grown.
Two weeks ago there were just 24 kids statewide in the hospital with COVID-19. Now, that number is about 90 kids which is a 275% increase. Compared to Deltas peak, the numbers are still low.
My take-home is you need to have a balance just like everything else, so if theyre going back into the school setting its making sure that we put all of the mitigation strategies in place, said Dr. Salemi. That includes mask-wearing, social distancing, ventilation infiltration of the air in the indoor environments. The use of antigen testing and making sure the kids arent positive and not going to school when you have any sore symptoms.
Dr. Salemi says its great to see the City of Tampa open up additional testing sites. He says it will encourage more people to get tested. If wait times in lines are too long, he says it may discourage people from doing the right thing.
Dr. Doug Ross, AdventHealth Tampa Chief Medical Officer, said people with symptoms should go to a testing site or the urgent care, but avoid the emergency room.
"If you have mild symptoms and you're concerned about COVID which you should be, testing sites are the best place to go, not the emergency rooms," said Dr. Ross.
Dr. Ross warns against large gatherings for New Year's Eve. He also encourages people to get vaccinated and practice social distancing.
"The patients who are being admitted are once again not vaccinated or not boosted so getting a booster is clearly a very important part of getting a milder care of this omicron or even of delta," said Dr. Ross.
Connecticuts daily COVID-19 positivity rate is now over 20 percent, a record high since significant widespread testing has been conducted.
Gov. Ned Lamont released the new rate on Thursday afternoon and todays positivity rate is 20.33 percent, up from 17.78 percent yesterday.
"There's no question about it, omicron is everywhere," Gov. Lamont said Thursday evening.
The governor called the 20% infection rate "eye-popping."
"If I had to make a bet, I'd say that 20-percent number you're seeing understates the nature of the spread we have in our community and communities throughout the Northeast," Lamont said.
The state has an additional 7,704 cases and an additional 38 people are hospitalized. The number of people hospitalized with COVID has now reached 1,151.
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There have been an additional 83 COVID-related deaths since the numbers were released last week.
Of the 1,151 patients currently hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, 819 (71.2%) are not fully vaccinated, the governors office said.
Omicron symptoms may be just like the last highly contagious strain of COVID-19, an Intermountain Healthcare infectious diseases specialist said Thursday, predicting the new variant will soon be responsible for all of Utahs skyrocketing number of cases.
Still, there was some hope that the new variant means the deadly virus is loosening its grip on the state from Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who tweeted omicron may be the beginning of the end of the pandemic thats heading into a third year.
During a virtual news conference by the regions largest health care provider, Dr. Eddie Stenehjem told reporters that when it comes to COVID-19 symptoms, we havent seen any major differences with omicron versus delta.
Symptoms range from the sniffles to serious illness, Stenehjem said.
Anything from a common cold symptom, so a runny nose, nasal congestion, that certainly could be COVID-19 caused by omicron, he said, as well as high fevers, a cough and shortness of breath that may send patients to the intensive care unit.
Because the symptoms mirror other infections circulating this winter, including the common cold, influenza and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, its really challenging right now, Stenehjem said.
So its just so important if you have any sign or symptom of a respiratory infection, regardless of how mild it is, you need to get tested for COVID-19, the doctor said, as the even more transmissible variant sweeps through the state.
Utah saw case counts shoot up to more than 3,300 on Wednesday, the highest since early January and nearing the daily record of more than 4,700 cases set just over a year ago. On Thursday, 3,563 new cases were reported by the Utah Department of Health.
Those numbers are anticipated to keep going up, Stenehjem said, citing sharp spikes seen in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world since the omicron variant was first identified in South Africa in late November before showing up in Utah soon after.
While there is what he termed anecdotal data coming from other countries suggesting the new variant causes milder illness, there are still plenty of people that have gotten severely ill with omicron as well, especially those who are older or immunocompromised.
Its too early to say omicron is a sign that COVID-19 is mutating into a less severe disease, maybe more like the common cold, Stenehjem said, blaming the variants rapid spread on its ability to evade immunity from vaccines or previous infection.
Booster shots, expected to soon be available to 12- to 15-year-olds, appear to offer the best protection against omicron, he said. Vaccines are available to any Utahn 5 and older but a booster following the initial shots have been available only to those at least 16 years old.
Some types of monoclonal antibody treatments used in the early stages of COVID-19 are not effective against omicron, the doctor said, so providers are working with the state to distribute the limited supplies of those that do work and prioritize patients.
Other treatments, such as antiviral pills, are also in short supply, Stenehjem said.
Hopefully, he said, the surge in cases driven by omicron and holiday gatherings will turn out to be a small blip but it will be a week or so before hospitals see the full impact. Already, hospital ICUs are about 93% full, down slightly since being at capacity before Christmas.
Dont let this give us false hope, the doctor said of hospitalization numbers.
Even if omicron does end up being milder than the delta variant behind making Utah and other intermountain states the nations COVID-19 hot spot last month, the sheer number of new cases expected means hospitals will still be jammed, he said.
But Utahs governor offered an upbeat assessment of omicrons impact on the state in a series of tweets from his personal account Thursday.
The next few weeks may be a little bumpy, but we have more tools than ever before to protect ourselves! he tweeted after citing a number of positive ways omicron differs from what he called the more dangerous delta variant.
Vaccines (especially boosters) remain the best way to protect against all variants. N95 masks can also help add a layer of protection. Avoid large crowds esp if vulnerable. Please stay home if you feel sick. Testing sites will be carrying heavy loads, so please be patient.
The governor closed by suggesting the end of the pandemic may be in sight.
The best news is that several experts now believe this wave will help us move from pandemic to endemic phase and get things back to normal. We remain forever indebted to our amazing healthcare workers who continue to give everything to save lives. Heres to a happy New Year, Cox tweeted.
Stenehjem also said theres room for some optimism, especially if Utahns double down on some of the same mitigation measures recommended throughout the pandemic by wearing masks and avoiding others.
Thats particularly important for children returning to school after the holiday break, he said, urging them to wear good quality, well-fitting masks and practice social distancing. Schools should ventilate classrooms by opening windows despite the cold, Stenehjem said.
We know what works. Weve just got to go out and do it, he said. The doctor agreed with the governor that omicron will soon take over from the delta variant, becoming responsible for 100% of all cases in the state within weeks.
Despite case counts similar to those seen at the peak of the pandemic last winter, Stenehjem said, people can get into this very doomsday mindset, but where we are now is much, much different than where we were.
Thursdays jump to 3,563 new COVID-19 cases comes after the state health department upped the percentage of cases estimated to be caused by omicron from around 65% to more than 70%.
Utahs rolling seven-day average for positive tests is now at 1,898 per day, and the rolling seven-day average for percent positivity is 12.4% when all test results are included and 8.4% when multiple tests by an individual are excluded.
More people were tested in Utah for the deadly virus in the past day than got vaccinated. There were 14,378 vaccine doses given since Wednesday while 15,419 people were tested and 28,777 tests administered in the state.
Currently, 436 people are hospitalized in Utah with COVID-19. An additional seven people have died from the virus, bringing the states COVID-19 death toll to 3,787, after a death reported Wednesday of a Tooele County man, between 45 and 64, was removed.
The state health department will not update numbers again until next week due to the New Years holiday. The deaths reported Thursday are:
AUSTIN (KXAN) Austin Public Health is working on a way to more accurately trace COVID-19 as more people rely on at-home COVID-19 tests to determine whether they have the virus or not.
With the omicron COVID variant already sweeping through the U.S., the demand for COVID testing has increased. The demand is so great, retailers likeWalgreenshave imposed purchasing limits on their at-home COVID tests and many have been wiped clean.
A spokesperson for Austin Public Health told KXAN theyre still working on a way to get all of those tests reported and said positive cases are underreported in our community.
That said, APH is asking people who have a positive at-home test to call the citys health equity line to report the positive cases for now. That number is (512) 972-5560. APH said they would notify the public if theres a change to that procedure.
Whats most important is that people isolate athomeif theytestpositive with an at-homekit or if theyre experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19, an APH spokesperson said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns antigen tests might not detect the highly-transmissible omicron variant. The agency continues to authorize the use of the tests but said antigen tests are generally less sensitive and less likely to pick up very early infections compared to molecular tests.
Officials said if a person tests negative with an antigen testbut is suspected of having COVID-19 such as experiencing symptoms or having a high likelihood of infection due to exposure follow-up molecular testing is important for determining a COVID-19 infection.
APH said the gold standard for COVID-19 detection continues to be the PCR test.If a person has COVID-19-like symptoms, they should isolate from others and wear a mask until they are tested.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommends if a person tests negative on day five after symptom onset,they should still continue to wear a mask for five days when around other individuals.
SACRAMENTO
California children who have lost a parent to COVID-19 could receive up to $5,000 in state-issued trust funds under a bill to be introduced in the Legislature next week, a proposal that suggests the state subsidy might later be expanded to a baby bonds program for children living in poverty.
The legislation authored by state Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) would give up to $3,000 to designated low-income children under 9 years old and up to $5,000 for children between the ages of 10 and 17 if a parent or guardian has died from COVID-19.
Skinners office estimates that 20,000 children would be eligible, based on preliminary data regarding coronavirus-related deaths among parents or guardians, with an initial cost to the state of up to $100 million in the first year. The interest-bearing accounts would grow over time, and eligible children would be able to access the money on their 18th birthday with no strings attached to how they spend it.
The bill, likely to be modified after lawmakers return to Sacramento next week, also proposes expanding the accounts to foster children or children otherwise impacted by extreme poverty. In an interview, Skinner said potential broader eligibility and other details are still under discussion.
Whether it turns into that this year remains to be seen but I think the concept of baby bonds is an important one, she said. I think its clearly a discussion thats appropriate to have, especially in California, where we have massive wealth inequality.
The program is modeled after an ambitious policy that Democrats have pushed at the federal level, aimed at curbing generational poverty and lessening the racial wealth gap. Earlier this year, Connecticut became the first state to implement a similar program.
Additionally, the Skinner bill proposes new state funding for children who do not qualify for federal COVID-19 survivor benefits because their parents did not meet certain work requirements, lacked legal immigration status or were incarcerated, preventing them from receiving Social Security funds.
Skinners plan comes days before Gov. Gavin Newsom reveals his state budget proposal. Analysts have projected a surplus that could top $31 billion, driven by Californias progressive tax structure that is weighted to rely on top earners who have felt little economic impact from the pandemic.
Skinner, who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, pointed to the surplus as a reason why the savings accounts should be created now.
We have these higher-than-expected revenues because we have a portion of our population that has immense wealth, however, we have a proportion of our population that really is very poor. Theres still this huge gap in terms of income inequality, she said. Lots of data shows that if you can provide some direct resources to low-income children, you can help move them out of poverty faster or altogether.
Nearly 2 million children in California lived in poverty as of 2019. Pandemic-related government relief programs have helped decrease the childhood poverty rate from about 18% in 2019 to about 12% in 2020, according to the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California.
People of color are disproportionately impacted. More than 21% of Californias Latino residents live in poverty, as do more than 17% of Black residents, according to institute researchers, compared with about 12% of white Californians.
Michael Tubbs, an advisor to Newsom who championed the idea of a universal basic income as the mayor of Stockton, is a supporter of the bill and said of Californias continued budget surplus, Thats our money, thats what everyone contributes to the state.
If California is going to remain the Golden State and continue to lead this nation, it has to do something about the pervasive income inequality. We have to ensure that poverty is not passed down so that children have the opportunity to break the cycle, Tubbs said. If Connecticut can do it, why cant we?
Bill Gates may not love New Year's resolutions, but he's still setting large goals for 2022 and beyond.
At the top of his list: avoiding future pandemics.
In his end-of-year blog post earlier this month, the billionaire Microsoft co-founder and healthcare philanthropist wrote that among the world's biggest problems, the next Covid-level health scare is pressing enough to demand attention in 2022.
"We can't afford to repeat the suffering of the last two years," Gates wrote. "The world had a chance to invest in the tools and systems that could've prevented the Covid-19 pandemic, and we didn't take it."
Gates hinted that the topic will be the subject of his next book, set to publish next year. In the meantime, he wrote, investing in medical research and development is a smart place to start: Many of the world's highest-profile medical projects, paused by Covid, could accelerate again in the near future.
In one example, he noted, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation helped fund a Phase III trial of islatravir, a preventative HIV medication, in Africa.
Current pill treatments offer reliable protection, but they must be ingested in frequent or otherwise planned intervals. The new treatment, also a pill, would only need to be taken once per month and the trial's first results, released this summer, were promising, Gates noted.
Gates and ex-wife Melinda French Gates have also donated billions of dollars to various health organizations. In a 2019 Wall Street Journal essay, the pair said they'd given up to $10 billion to organizations like the Global Fund, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI) over the past two decades.
In his blog post, Gates wrote, some of this year's achievements show that the world may really be able to end the Covid pandemic and curb the next one, from governments and nonprofits combating climate change together to the World Health Organization's approval of the first malaria vaccine.
But a growing global distrust in public institutions, he noted, represents a significant hurdle. According to the 2021Edelman Trust Index, a survey of more than 33,000 people across 28 countries that Gates cited in his post, Americans in particular don't trust their public officials: The study noted that 40% of U.S. respondents "deeply" distrust the country's federal government.
"If your people don't trust you, they're not going to support major new initiatives," Gates wrote. "And when a major crisis emerges, they're less likely to follow guidance necessary to weather the storm."
It's a timely issue: According to some experts, the next pandemic could be even worse, and it might not even be far away. "I think that as time goes forward we're going to see more of them," Richard Preston, author of "The Hot Zone," a 1994 book about Ebola, told CNBC last year. "And they're going to balloon faster."
For Gates, that means political leaders and private citizens alike need to get on board with preventative actions before Covid starts to fade from people's priority lists.
"Now is the time to learn from our mistakes and take steps to prevent this terrible experience from ever happening again," Gates wrote. "I'm hopeful that we'll see broad support for pandemic preparedness efforts, and I plan on spending a lot of time advocating for them."
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As the omicron variant rips through NBA players and coaches, it has reached a season-high among game officials: 36% of the league's referees are in COVID-19 protocols, sources told ESPN on Thursday.
With 25 of the league's 70 active referees currently in quarantine, the league has been promoting G League referees to fill out the nightly roster of games, sources said.
There have been rare instances lately when only two referees -- instead of the standard three -- were available for games, but the NBA has continued to work to limit those occasions, sources said.
The G League has paused the season until Wednesday to allow for players and referees to be available to the NBA.
NBA referees are 100% vaccinated and are required to be fully boosted prior to Wednesday, sources said. Only a percentage of refs currently on road trips haven't been boosted, but must do by Wednesday.
Officials don't have the protections that teams do with charter flights and five-star hotels, but the NBA has been working with the National Basketball Referees Association on improvements related to travel -- including hotels -- that might serve to lessen exposure to the virus, sources said.
A member of the Salt Lake County Health Department COVID-19 testing staff walks past a line outside the department on Tuesday. The number of new COVID019 cases hit a record this week, topping numbers from January. Rick Bowmer/AP hide caption
A member of the Salt Lake County Health Department COVID-19 testing staff walks past a line outside the department on Tuesday. The number of new COVID019 cases hit a record this week, topping numbers from January.
The omicron variant is spreading rapidly all over the country, but hospitalization and death rates remain relatively low.
The seven-day average of COVID-19 cases topped 280,000 this week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University's tracker. It's a record number of new cases in the country; the last time the number of cases hit a peak close to that was January.
Public health officials including Dr. Anthony Fauci and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky say the new variant appears to be less severe than ones in the past but still emphasize the need to follow public health protocols like getting vaccinated and wearing a mask to curb the spread of the virus.
Data from the White House provided at a briefing Wednesday shows the seven-day average of hospitalizations is about 9,000 per day which is a 14% increase in hospitalizations from last week. However, there was a 60% rise in cases over the same time frame. The seven-day average of COVID-19 deaths is down from last week, at about 1,100 deaths per day.
Officials say the difference is in part because omicron causes less severe symptoms for those who are vaccinated and especially for those who are boosted.
Another reason for the wide gap between the increase in hospitalizations and cases, Fauci said, is that hospitalizations tend to lag behind recorded cases. Still, "all indications point to less severe illness with omicron than delta," he said.
Fauci also cited a new study out of South Africa which shows that hospital admissions from the omicron wave there were 4.5% of cases versus 21.3% with other variants. The number of patients who needed oxygen while in the hospital with the omicron variant was half as much as the number of patients with previous variants. And the length of stay in the hospital was about four days with the omicron variant, compared with an average of 8.8 days with earlier waves.
Despite the seemingly lower severity of the omicron variant, Fauci emphasized the need for people to get vaccinated and boosted.
"Boosters bring back up that degree of protection," he said. "Boosters are critical."
As COVID-19 surges, some NFL teams are taking extra precautions to keep their quarterbacks from contracting the virus.
Just as in 2020, teams such as the Indianapolis Colts are coping with the possibility of not having their top quarterback available for a key game. Colts starter Carson Wentz, who is unvaccinated, was placed on the team's COVID-19 reserve list on Wednesday, leaving his availability for Sunday's game with the Las Vegas Raiders (1 p.m. ET, Fox) in doubt.
Whether it's keeping one quarterback isolated, spacing out the quarterback room, holding virtual meetings or adhering to other safety guidelines outlined by the league and government officials, here is how some NFL teams that have either locked up a playoff bid or are contending for one are trying to ensure they have a healthy quarterback. Teams are listed by conference seeding.
All three of the Packers' quarterbacks -- Aaron Rodgers, Jordan Love and the practice squad's Kurt Benkert -- have had COVID-19 this season, so they don't need to test anymore. The soonest Rodgers would be subjected to another test would be the week of the Super Bowl. Love is clear from testing through the Super Bowl.
While the Packers wouldn't need to do anything special for their quarterbacks, coach Matt LaFleur has said he will take the team virtual for everything but practice whenever he feels there's a reason to do so. -- ESPN Packers reporter Rob Demovsky
Because the Cowboys are in a virtual-meeting mode anyway, they do not need to separate quarterbacks. In fact, they even pulled No. 3 quarterback Will Grier from virtual meetings because he had sniffles, according to coach Mike McCarthy. Ultimately, the Cowboys hope to get back to in-person -- yet, socially distanced -- meetings before the playoffs and have talked about different scenarios.
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"We are very cognizant of the position groups and being smart with everybody," McCarthy said. "But it's really the personal focus is what's most important. As far as our time together, outside of being on the practice field and in the locker room, the way it's set up, I think we are doing a really good job here." -- ESPN Cowboys reporter Todd Archer
Bucs interim head coach Harold Goodwin called it "business as usual in the quarterback room" and praised that position group for its adherence to COVID-19 protocols. The Buccaneers have had an emergency option there for the past two seasons in tight end Cameron Brate, should Tom Brady, Blaine Gabbert, Kyle Trask and Ryan Griffin all not be available.
The Bucs keep four quarterbacks with three on the active roster, so that helps. -- ESPN Bucs reporter Jenna Laine
None of the quarterbacks on Arizona's roster -- Kyler Murray, Colt McCoy, Trace McSorley and Chris Streveler -- has had COVID-19 this season. Arizona will continue to space them out but not separate them.
"We feel like we have a good plan for it," coach Kliff Kingsbury said. -- ESPN Cardinals reporter Josh Weinfuss
Coach Kyle Shanahan said the team switched all meetings to virtual on Wednesday, two days after punter Mitch Wishnowsky became the team's first player to go on the COVID list since August.
"We've been pretty fortunate with it so far having just one guy down," Shanahan said. "But just watching the world and watching everybody, knowing how it's a matter of time is what it looks like, so we're just trying to be careful and keep everyone separate right now until we go outside."
The Niners also signed QB Tyler Bray to the practice squad, which means they have Bray and Nate Sudfeld as QBs on the practice squad and Jimmy Garoppolo and Trey Lance on the active roster. -- ESPN 49ers reporter Nick Wagoner
The Eagles are keeping quarterbacks Jalen Hurts, Gardner Minshew and Reid Sinnett in separate rooms at the NovaCare Complex amid the surge in coronavirus cases, coach Nick Sirianni said recently.
"We're going to make some adjustments ... we're going to definitely make even more adjustments than what we need to just keep everybody safe," Sirianni said. "The quarterbacks will be in separate rooms. We're going to be even more safe with them being in separate rooms." -- ESPN Eagles reporter Tim McManus
After the Vikings placed backup quarterback Sean Mannion, who is vaccinated, on the reserve/COVID-19 list hours before their loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, coach Mike Zimmer said the team is taking more safety measures this week and will be separating their quarterbacks in meetings.
"We don't want those guys in the same room together, so we're going to try and spread them apart," Zimmer said.
Starting quarterback Kirk Cousins remains unvaccinated, and rookie Kellen Mond, who served as Cousins' backup versus Los Angeles during the first game he was active all year, has been following protocols for unvaccinated players. -- ESPN Vikings reporter Courtney Cronin
Coach Arthur Smith has been putting protocols in place for his quarterbacks -- and other positions -- throughout the season, trying to mitigate risk as best as possible.
"I don't think anybody has the perfect solution right now," Smith said. "I think that's the one thing that's painfully obvious about the omicron variant."
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Quarterback Matt Ryan said he has done everything he could from a vaccination and booster standpoint to protect himself. And inside the Falcons' building, everyone has been spaced out all year in different parts of a room to limit contact and not be as closely positioned around each other.
"We're not in a tight meeting room," Ryan said. "None of us are really that close all day." -- ESPN Falcons reporter Michael Rothstein
The Saints already suffered through the worst-case scenario last week when they lost their top two quarterbacks, Taysom Hill and Trevor Siemian, along with 18 other eligible players, to positive COVID-19 tests. The Saints had to start rookie QB Ian Book in Monday night's 20-3 loss to the Miami Dolphins. But now, both Hill and Siemian should be available for the remainder of the season, so the Saints won't have to worry about isolating them at this point. -- ESPN Saints reporter Mike Triplett
Washington's top two quarterbacks, Taylor Heinicke and Kyle Allen, both missed the Dec. 21 game at Philadelphia because they had tested positive for COVID-19, and Kyle Shurmur was put on the list Thursday. But there is one other quarterback on the roster, Garrett Gilbert, and there are coaches to consider, so Washington will continue to take precautions. Rather than sit in their usual small meeting room, the seven of them take over the team meeting room that has 75 seats. Coach Ron Rivera said they wear masks and spread out. -- ESPN Washington Football Team reporter John Keim
The Titans still have their quarterbacks in the building. They'll use the practice bubble for meeting space and also have what coach Mike Vrabel described as "a massive team meeting room that you have just a few people in."
Overall, the organization is taking a conscious approach to ensure that everybody is more than adequately spaced out. Quarterbacks Ryan Tannehill and Logan Woodside are vaccinated. -- ESPN Titans reporter Turron Davenport
The Bengals used a "quarantine" quarterback last season, and they're similarly isolating practice squad quarterback Jake Browning this season.
A couple of weeks ago, coach Zac Taylor said the team removed Browning from the quarterback meetings and had him join via video teleconferencing in order to limit the potential physical interactions. Taylor said the quarterbacks have voluntarily worn masks and made efforts to limit in-person contact to practices and games. -- ESPN Bengals reporter Ben Baby
The Bills have kept their plans for quarantining any quarterbacks private, but the team has been meeting virtually for the past two weeks, which makes any separation plans mostly unnecessary. On top of that, backup quarterback Mitchell Trubisky missed two games on the reserve/COVID-19 list over a month ago, which means he is not currently testing.
Josh Allen is the only other quarterback on the active roster, along with Davis Webb on the practice squad, but there have not been plans shared currently to separate Webb.
"We talk about those things quite a bit, trying to go through all the scenarios and impossible situations that could come up," coach Sean McDermott said. "So we haven't decided to go that route yet, but we'll see where it goes." -- ESPN Bills reporter Alaina Getzenberg
Frank Reich wouldn't discuss his team's plans after it was announced Tuesday that Wentz was being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, but the coach addressed the topic on Monday and said the quarterbacks had been trying to follow their own protocols to stay safe.
"They've been kind of doing that in their own informal way," Reich said. "There have been times where we have all met together, but there's other times where normally the guys might be all watching tape together in the same room, and so there's less of that going on. Kind of like when we're not in a formal meeting, a lot of times the guys would be watching tape together, so we kind of minimize that." -- ESPN Colts reporter Mike Wells
Bill Belichick didn't care to divulge specifics on how the Patriots have handled their COVID-19 plan with quarterbacks, but he spoke generally when he said: "We've tried to take the highest precautions that we can with everybody ... particularly the ones who aren't vaccinated."
The dynamics of the Patriots' QB situation led to the group having at least one quarterback separated from the rest during meetings. -- ESPN Patriots reporter Mike Reiss
The Ravens are in virtual-meeting mode, so the quarterbacks are not in meetings together. Baltimore's top two quarterbacks -- Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley -- have had COVID-19 this season. In fact, the Ravens had to turn to Josh Johnson to start last Sunday, when Huntley tested positive for COVID-19 and Jackson was already out with an ankle injury. -- ESPN Ravens reporter Jamison Hensley
The Chargers returned to virtual meetings and news conferences this week as over a dozen players were put on the COVID-19 reserve list, although that number has dropped to 10. Backup quarterback Chase Daniel was on the list last week and was not available for the Chargers' loss to the Houston Texans, but he has since been activated.
"Yeah, we're keeping physical distance," offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said. "A lot of the meetings have been virtual. We're taking all of the precautions we can. I think the players ... are in their homes meeting over their phones or computers. They drive in for practice where everything is outside. We're trying to minimize their chances of getting it." -- ESPN Chargers reporter Shelley Smith
Raiders coach Rich Bisaccia didn't speak specifically about his quarterbacks, but he did say the team recently enhanced its precautions.
"[Director of team operations] Tom Jones rebuilt the new rooms in the back of the indoor facility on both sides," Bisaccia said. "The chairs are 3-5 yards apart, and guys have been wearing masks in the building. And we Zoomed a bunch at the end of last week as well.
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"We kind of put ourselves into some type of an intensive protocol as early as last week, and we've followed through again going into this week. It's all over the league obviously. It's in multiple leagues, and we are going to deal with it like everybody else.
"We've talked about every week you seem to play with a different team, and you seem to be playing against a different team. Here we are again getting ready to play the Colts and we're preparing for multiple quarterbacks. We aren't 100 percent sure who we are going to see. So, it's become part of the norm." -- ESPN Raiders reporter Paul Gutierrez
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 13, and he wouldn't be subjected to another test until days before the Super Bowl, under the NFL's COVID-19 policy.
The Steelers are adhering to the protocols and will make adjustments as necessary to all position groups, but because Roethlisberger already had the virus, the Steelers don't have the same level of concern as some of the other teams. -- ESPN Steelers reporter Brooke Pryor
The Broncos have used social distancing for most of the season with the quarterbacks meeting in the team's indoor complex when they huddle with offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and quarterbacks coach Mike Shula. The group sits far apart on a portion of the indoor field. The Broncos also use virtual meetings at times.
The team has kept its extra quarterback -- most often No. 3 QB Brett Rypien -- in virtual meetings all season, even if the others were meeting in person. The only time the third quarterback was with the others was on the practice field or briefly in the locker room before practice.
Broncos starter Teddy Bridgewater is currently in concussion protocol, but to this point in the season none of the team's quarterbacks has tested positive for COVID-19. -- ESPN Broncos reporter Jeff Legwold
