January 21, 2022 – Walgreens announced it has launched a COVID-19 Index to for rapid detection of Omicron, and to track variant activity by state. The Walgreens COVID-19 Index is a new interactive tracking tool powered by testing data from Aegis Sciences Corporation. Walgreens said data captured in the COVID-19 Index can track the spread of the Omicron variant within 24 to 48 hours, more quickly than other methods. In addition to a national view, data can be reviewed by state. The Walgreens COVID-19 Index is based on proprietary data from PCR testing services administered by Walgreens and performed by its testing partner Aegis Sciences.
“Through Walgreens partnership with Aegis Sciences, we have the ability to provide this interactive tracking tool and inform the development of strategies and resources to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” said Dr. Kevin Ban, chief medical officer for Walgreens. “This provides a leading consumer-centric healthcare solution to support our communities and partners, building on our nationwide footprint and health offerings.”
Based on data analyzed as of Jan. 18, the following types of insights are available from the Walgreens COVID-19 Index:
- Nationally, more than 95% of all positive cases are presumed to be the Omicron variant
- Top states for COVID-19 positive rates are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Dakota, Nevada and Texas, which all have COVID-19 positivity rates over 45% of those tested
- Top states for confirmed Delta case prevalence are Maine (43.5%), Kansas (36.5%), Iowa (29.2%), New Mexico (25.2%), Oklahoma (24.2%), Indiana (23.6%) and Utah (23.5%)