Researchers at Rutgers University have created a rapid COVID-19 test that can detect emerging coronavirus variants. Co-researcher Dr. David Alland says the test operates just like a regular COVID-19 PCR test, but instead of just detecting the presence of the virus, it will be able to identify a mutation. Alland and his team are working to develop a second test that would make it easier to differentiate and identify variants from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil. “We need to know this to know whether we should be focusing on certain communities for prevention for more aggressive quarantines,” said Alland. “We need to understand this to see if we start seeing vaccine failures, is it a problem with the vaccine, is it a problem with the virus. And we don’t know any of these things yet.” To watch the full interview.