Omicron sub-variant BA.2 makes up 11.6% of COVID-19 variants in US
pharmafile | March 9, 2022 | News story | Research and Development |
The CDC said that the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron is estimated to be 11.6% of the coronavirus variants circulating in the US as of March 5.
This variant is the dominant variant in South Africa, and is spreading rapidly in parts of Asia and Europe. WHO has said that the BA.2 variant appears to be more transmissible than the original BA.1 sub-variant, based on initial data. Africa’s top public health body has said BA.2 does not cause more severe disease than BA.1.
US daily cases have started to decline in recent weeks, following record levels being broken in January. The CDC is now drastically easing its COVID-19 guidelines for masks, including in schools.
According to Reuters, other Omicron sub-variants have been circulating since December. They are called BA.1.1 and B.1.1.529, and they now make up approximately 73.7% and 14.7% of circulating variants.
The CDC estimates that BA.2 made up 6.6% of cases, a come down from 8%, of circulating variants in the country the previous week. The body is revising its estimates as more data comes in.
Recent studies of the BA.2 sub-variant has suggested that it is both more transmissible and more lethal than Omicron BA.1. These findings come as the recent drop in COVID-19 infections worldwide has slowed.
These findings challenge the claims of governments around the world that the pandemic is ending, and that Omicron is the “mild variant”. This contradicts the relaxing, and even total elimination in some places, of public health measures.
Lina Adams






