Focusing on development of novel sampling approaches and alternative therapies for COVID-19: Are they still useful in an era after the pandemic?

The different viral characteristics of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 have fundamentally changed people's view concerning COVID-19. Many alternative sampling approaches and therapies have been developed that may be better suited to the Omicron variant, such as a saline gargle to detect SARS-CoV-2 and nasal irrigation with chlorine dioxide. The mechanisms of these methods of sampling and alternative therapies are briefly summarized here. Development of novel alternative sampling/therapeutic approaches for COVID-19 is crucial due to the uncertain future of emerging respiratory viruses, and their efficiency/safety needs to be verified in a post-pandemic era since viral infections of the respiratory tract have a similar route of transmission as SARS-CoV-2.