On Saturday the US medical agencies acknowledged the spread of the new variant of the original omicron strain in different states of the country. The new Covid sub-variant is spreading at an enormous rate across the US and more than 25 states have reported at least a single case of the BA.2 (name of the substrain of the omicron).
The Latest Covid Variant Is Already Circulating In Almost Half Of The Us
As per the latest reports available with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US recorded more than 130 cases of the omicron’s sub-variant. Although as per some of the medical experts in the country, the new substrain has been available since December after the outbreak in the country, the growth is now clearly visible.
More than 8000 cases of the BA.2 have been reported in the world till now. Also as per the initial research conducted by various scientists and medical scholars in the United States, not much has been found related to the severity of the infection in the human body. Its symptoms are also unknown as of now and experts are working day and night to find the same.
But there is a major catch here and it has been detected that the variant is almost 1.5 times more highly contagious than the original Omicron variant. The delta version was very dangerous in terms of severity, but it was less transmissible than the omicron.
Also, the average seven-day daily cases have seen a minor dip of 6 percent; it stands at 692,000 cases in the United States.
The US has recorded more than a dozen cases of BA.2. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reacting to the new Covid variant is of the opinion that though the sub-variant has spread widely when compared to the omicron variant. The rate at which it is spreading in the US is still at a low level and more data is required under the strain and its symptoms. Also, the effectiveness and efficiency of the vaccines are still unknown against this new strain of Omicron.
According to scientists, the Sub variant is 1.5 times more transmissible than the Omicron variant. There are quite evident differences in the mutations of both variants.
Earlier last week, The World Health Organization raised a special warning against the rising cases of this new strain and claimed that BA.2 can be more severe, infectious, and highly transmissible as compared to the current Covid variants that are still prevailing in the world. The new Covid variant will be overtaking the variant that is currently circulating across the globe and the cases are increasing at a faster pace.
Meanwhile, there is no substantial data to confirm whether BA.2 has the potential to reinfect the people who have already contracted Omicron. Positively, scientists and infectious disease experts state that the previous strains of Covid are more likely to provide immunity for the BA.2, and vaccinated people will be at less risk than the unvaccinated ones.
