New omicron BA.2 strain hits the US, over 49 other countries
The omicron subvariant, known as BA.2 and which is even more contagious than the original omicron strain, known as BA.1, has spread to nearly half of U.S. states, including California, Texas and Washington, but is currently circulating at a low level, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said.
There were at least 127 known cases of the BA.2 variant in the United States as of Friday, according to a global database that tracks Covid variants, CNBC reported.
NPR said that the states where the BA.2 variant has been detected include California, Texas and Washington and scientists expect it to spread in the country over the next month.
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“Although the BA.2 lineage has recently increased in proportion in some countries, it remains a very low proportion of circulating viruses in the United States and globally,” Kristen Nordlund, a CDC spokesperson, told The Washington Post.
“Currently there is no evidence that the BA.2 lineage is more severe than the BA.1 lineage,” Nordlund added.
First identified in early December, BA.2 has spread to 49 countries, CNN reported.
Denmark’s Statens Serum Institute has said about half of all new COVID-19 cases in that country are of the BA.2 variant.
The U.K. Health Security Agency has said BA.2 has a “substantial” growth advantage over the original omicron, as the former spread faster than BA.1 in all regions of England where there were enough cases to conduct an analysis.
However, a preliminary assessment suggests that BA.2 might not reduce the effectiveness of vaccines any more than BA.1.
BA.1 and BA.2 arose around the same time and come from the same ancestor strain, Theodora Hatziioannou, an associate professor of virology at Rockefeller University, told The Wall Street Journal, adding that the two have many mutations in common but also around 20 different mutations.
The differences between the two can be seen in the spike protein of the virus, Hatziioannou explained.
Mark Zeller, a genomic epidemiologist at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, California, was quoted as saying that BA.2 could lead to another surge in cases, but at a slower rate because those who have been infected with BA.1 may have some immunity to BA.2.
The original omicron was designated as the fifth “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization in November but the global agency hasn’t given BA.2 any designation as of now.
Scientists and public health experts do not know yet whether BA.2 has symptoms that are significantly different from BA.1, but many believe BA.1 is less likely to lead to severe disease.
Scientists and public health experts don't yet know whether BA.2 has significantly different symptoms from BA.1, but many believe BA.1 is less likely to lead to severe disease.
