Mary Wilson
Well-known member
At least 54 countries and 24 states have identified the BA.2 variant.
January 28, 2022
Becky Upham
Just as the omicron wave appears to be retreating in parts of the United States, a new version of the variant has been spreading in countries around the world.
The BA.2 variant is related to the original omicron variant (known as BA.1), but researchers are still learning about its properties and what additional risks, if any, it may pose. The new variant is being closely watched in countries like Denmark and India, where cases of the omicron spin off are on the rise.
According to a statement from Denmark's Statens Serum Institute, BA.2 accounts for almost half of all new COVID-19 cases in the country. India's National Centre for Disease Control said that BA.2 had become the more prevalent strain there.
... “At the moment, what we know about BA.2 is that it is quite contagious, it seems not to produce more severe disease, and that our current vaccines still will provide protection against severe disease and hospitalization,” says William Schaffner, MD, professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. ...
... Although the World Health Organization (WH0) hasn’t named BA.2 as a variant of concern, the agency is urging scientists to keep an eye on the variant.
“The BA.2 descendant lineage, which differs from BA.1 in some of the mutations, including in the spike protein, is increasing in many countries,” stated the WHO. “Investigations into the characteristics of BA.2, including immune escape properties and virulence, should be prioritized independently (and comparatively) to BA. 1.”
https://www.everydayhealth.com/coro...ains-foothold-around-the-world-and-in-the-us/
January 28, 2022
Becky Upham
Just as the omicron wave appears to be retreating in parts of the United States, a new version of the variant has been spreading in countries around the world.
The BA.2 variant is related to the original omicron variant (known as BA.1), but researchers are still learning about its properties and what additional risks, if any, it may pose. The new variant is being closely watched in countries like Denmark and India, where cases of the omicron spin off are on the rise.
According to a statement from Denmark's Statens Serum Institute, BA.2 accounts for almost half of all new COVID-19 cases in the country. India's National Centre for Disease Control said that BA.2 had become the more prevalent strain there.
... “At the moment, what we know about BA.2 is that it is quite contagious, it seems not to produce more severe disease, and that our current vaccines still will provide protection against severe disease and hospitalization,” says William Schaffner, MD, professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. ...
... Although the World Health Organization (WH0) hasn’t named BA.2 as a variant of concern, the agency is urging scientists to keep an eye on the variant.
“The BA.2 descendant lineage, which differs from BA.1 in some of the mutations, including in the spike protein, is increasing in many countries,” stated the WHO. “Investigations into the characteristics of BA.2, including immune escape properties and virulence, should be prioritized independently (and comparatively) to BA. 1.”
https://www.everydayhealth.com/coro...ains-foothold-around-the-world-and-in-the-us/
