We all know that Covid-19 has shaken the whole world. Furthermore, there were many variants of the coronavirus that has been discovered lately. However, this omicron variant has recently been on every news and article. This is all because the omicron has become the dominant Covid-19 variant with a really high spread in just a few months after its discovery. When we were scratching our heads due to the emergence of new variants, scientists have already discovered about sub-variants. We’re talking about sub-variant. Yes, a new sub-variant of the omicron has been discovered by the British scientist which is named BA.2. In this post, we will tell you about Omicron BA.2 variant and its similarities and differences with Omicron BA.1 variant.
International data suggests it could spread relatively quickly even more rapidly than its siblings. We have already started seeing the effect of it spread when we see symptomatic people all around us. This new substrate has now been detected in more than 40 countries. The UK Health Security Agency UKHSA had identified 426 new cases and these 426 cases were reported in just 10 days only from Britain where the dominant strain is still BA.1. So we can clearly estimate how much more cases would be, where this strain has become the dominance of variant strain.
Also, this strain has mostly become dominant in India, Denmark, and Sweden. This variant is designated as BA.2 sub-lineage, probably as a sequel version to the BA.1 variant which is dominant in Britain.
Is BA.2 be Variant of concern?
International data suggests it could spread relatively quickly even more rapidly than its siblings. We have already started seeing the effect of it spread when we see symptomatic people all around us. This new substrate has now been detected in more than 40 countries. The UK Health Security Agency UKHSA had identified 426 new cases and these 426 cases were reported in just 10 days only from Britain where the dominant strain is still BA.1. So we can clearly estimate how much more cases would be, where this strain has become the dominance of variant strain.
Also, this strain has mostly become dominant in India, Denmark, and Sweden. This variant is designated as BA.2 sub-lineage, probably as a sequel version to the BA.1 variant which is dominant in Britain.
Difference between virulence and transmissibility
Now, what’s the difference between virulence and transmissibility? A virus is said to be transmissible when it can easily be spread from one person to another. Whereas, virulence is the character of any pathogen. In this case, a virus that makes it more dangerous and more lethal. So, a virus can be highly transmissible but less virulent and vice versa.
BA.2 Variant Vaccine
This latest incarnation does not pose specific mutations different from BA.1. observations from India and Denmark show that there is no dramatic difference in severity compared to Omicron BA.1 variant. And what’s good news is that there is no difference in vaccine effectiveness reported so far. Hence, the vaccine for BA.1 will suffice for BA.2.
BA.2 rapid spread
The first sequence of this variant was submitted from the Philippines to just 8 with 6411 sequences. Most of the samples of the BA.2 so far have been uploaded from Denmark. India has reported 530 samples of the omicron sub-variant, followed by Sweden with 111 and Singapore with 127 samples. In Denmark, BA.2 has grown rapidly. It accounted for about 20 of all Covid-19 cases in the last week of 2021, rising to 45 in the second week of 2022. Now that’s what makes it more important than others.
Additionally, it has been presumed that there could be possibly the emergence of the second wave of BA.2. There already has been one wave of BA.1 variant across the world. Also, it has been postulated that it is more resistant to immunity in the population which allows it to infect more.
The scientists are still puzzled if the infection from BA.1 would provide immunity against Omicron BA.2 variant or not. In case it does not, we must be prepared for something new again and then in fact we might see two peaks of this epidemic. Yes, two spikes of the epidemic from a single variant. And just because the death rate is low, it doesn’t mean we should not worry about it. The longer it stays in human bodies, the more there’ll be an occurrence of mutations and who knows one of the mutations give rise to a super variant, resistant to all the vaccines we’ve received.
The bottom line
Let’s break the chain and defeat the virus. Let’s not take an unnecessary move that increases the spread. That’s all from the post. Hope it was informative. For more articles, visit our website.
Note: Must read Omicron Virus – Facts, Symptoms, Treatment and Precautions
