Omicron and the BA.2 Subvariant: A Guide to What We Know
If you think you got rid of COVID-19 entirely, you may get disheartened as the cases of COVID-19 with a new BA.2 variant can be seen to spread. The virus has moved at a rapid pace in the past several months. Last fall, not long after the Delta variant, it moved past its peak, and people started to prepare for Thanksgiving, but around that time, as we are all aware, Omicron spread like wildfire.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT COVID-19 NEW VARIANT
Experts have turned their focus from Omicron (or BA.1) to Omicron BA.2, a genetically distinct subvariant for the former. It has soon become the predominant variant in the US. By April, the variant started to branch out from BA.2. These have included BA.4 and BA.5, which are not multiplying in the US. However, another subvariant, BA.2.12.1, already accounts for 20% of the new cases.
IS OMICRON MORE TRANSMISSIBLE — OR DEADLIER — THAN PREVIOUS VARIANTS?
From the start, scientists had two essential questions about the Omicron variant. The first is the transmission ability of the new variant, compared to the Delta and previous variants like Beta and Alpha, and the original virus.