Health experts say they are paying close attention to the BA.2 variant over the next few weeks as they wait to see if another COVID surge will arise.
"There's four unique mutations in the spike protein that are distinct in BA.2, and different from BA.1. ... It seems that these mutations will propel the transmissibility to about a 30% to 50% higher degree of contagiousness than the BA.1 variant," Huhn said."Now, this is different than the switch from delta to omicron. That truly was a much more drastic change in the virus and that's where we really saw transmissibility increase magnitudes above delta.
Ghinai said he doesn't believe BA.2 will lead to a surge like the one previously seen during the omicron peak, but changes are expected"at some point." White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci also said he expects"an uptick in cases" due to BA.2, but not necessarily a massive surge like other variants have caused. "However, when you look at the cases, they do not appear to be any more severe and they do not appear to evade immune responses either from vaccines or prior infections."
As most COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed across Europe, including Austria, Britain, Denmark, Germany and France, the numbers of infections have inched higher in recent days. The uptick is driven in part by BA.2 and by people largely abandoning masks and gathering in bigger groups."I'm going to be honest, I am concerned about what's happening in Europe because I think there is not a full understanding of it," Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr.
The request is broader than rival pharmaceutical company Pfizer's request for the regulator to approve a booster shot for all seniors. Across much of the Midwest, however, the variant accounts for 20.5% of cases during that same time frame. In parts of the East Coast, including New York and New Jersey, the number is 39%.
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