Omicron subvariant is spreading – BA.2 apparently no more dangerous
A subtype of the omicron variant of the coronavirus is spreading rapidly in some countries. still is unclear what influence subvariant BA.2 has on the course of the pandemic will have. According to initial findings, it causes no more serious diseases than omicron.
In the first ten days of the year, Great Britain more than 400 infections with BA.2 have been identified, said the health authorities in London. In about 40 other countries is the subtype also occurred. Most cases are in India, Denmark and Sweden. “It is still unclear what significance the changes in the virus genome have,” said the authority.
„What surprised us is the speed, with which this subvariant, which circulates widely in Asia, spread to Denmark,” says French epidemiologist Antoine Flahault. “The country expected the contagion to peak in mid-January, but it didn’t happen. Maybe that’s due to this subvariant.” This shine to be more easily transferrable than the original omicron type BA.1, says the head of the Institute for Global Health at the University of Geneva.
Given the spread of BA.2 be vigilant, but not panic, emphasizes the scientist. According to the current state of knowledge, infections with the subtype were not more severe.
Virologist Tom Peacock from Imperial College London shares this view. “Very early observations from India and Denmark suggest that it there is no dramatic difference in severity compared to BA.1”, he wrote on Twitter. In his estimation, it willprobably only minimal differences in the effectiveness of the vaccine against BA.1 and BA.2”.
“Even with a slightly higher transferability, it is absolutely not a change like from delta to omicron, but probably a slower and more subtle one” predicts Peacock in his tweets. (AFP)
