Omicron subvariant BA.2 likely to have same severity as ‘original’, says WHO
pharmafile | February 2, 2022 | News story | Research and Development |
The BA.2 form of the Omicron coronavirus variant is unlikely to be any more severe than the original BA.1 form, a WHO official has reported. Dr Boris Pavlin, of WHO’s COVID-19 Response Team, told an online briefing that vaccines continue to provide similar protection against the different forms of Omicron.
These concerns come as the BA.2 subvariant begins to replace Omicron’s more common BA.1 subvariant in EU countries such as Denmark. Based on data from Denmark, the first country where BA.2 overtook BA.1, there appears to be no great difference in disease severity, although BA.2 has the potential to replace BA.1 globally, Dr Pavlin added.
“Looking at other countries where BA.2 is now overtaking, we’re not seeing any higher bumps in hospitalization than expected,” he said.
Maria Van Kerkhove, an epidemiologist and the WHO’s technical lead on the coronavirus pandemic, told reporters that initial data indicated BA.2 had “a slight increase in growth rate over BA.1”, the first version of the Omicron variant.
BA.2 is more transmissible than the more common BA.1 variant, and more able to infect vaccinated people, according to a Danish study which analysed coronavirus infections in more than 8,500 Danish households between December and January.
Pavlin said that the subvariant is already becoming dominant in parts of Europe and Asia, such as in the Philippines, Nepal, Qatar, India, and Denmark. “Vaccination is profoundly protective against severe disease, including for Omicron. BA.2 is rapidly replacing BA.1. Its impact is unlikely to be substantial, although more data are needed.”
The Omicron sub-variant has now been detected in 57 countries, says WHO.
Lina Adams
