San Francisco International Airport recently became the first U.S. airport to test wastewater from international passengers for COVID-19 variants.
"Now, what it's more focused on is informing future vaccination development, and if we're gonna get an annual booster, what is the best cocktail if you will, what is the best combination?" said Doug Yakel, SFO spokesperson.
From the plane, the wastewater is taken to a lab run by a division of Ginkgo Bioworks of Boston. It's then tested for COVID-19.Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter. "Ideally giving us, you know, early warning not just of what's in the United States, but what may be moving around the globe and what may be coming here," said Andrew Franklin of Ginkgo Bioworks."When we zoom out, the airport and air travel in general becomes really interesting," Franklin said."It allows us to see what's coming into the country, so it gives us a more global perspective.
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