The coronavirus variant known as BA.2, or the 'stealth Omicron,' now causes more than a third of new Omicron infections around the world.
is now causing more than a third of new Omicron infections around the world, but scientists still don’t know how it could affect the future of the pandemic.
“We’re all keeping an eye on BA.2 just because it has done particularly well in some parts of the world,” including parts of Asia, Africa and Europe, saidThis week, a technical advisory group for the World Health Organization advised public health authorities to monitor the variant as a distinct Omicron strain.Early research suggests it spreads faster than the original Omicron and in rare cases can sicken people even if they’ve already had an Omicron infection.
, the WHO said BA.2 was dominant in 18 countries and represented about 36% of sequenced Omicron cases submitted in the most recent week to a publicly available international database where scientists share coronavirus data. That’s up from 19% two weeks earlier.during the week ending Feb. 19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The percentage was lower in some regions and higher in others — hitting about 7% in New England.BA.2 has lots of mutations.
But vaccination can protect people from getting sick. Scientists in the United Kingdom found that they provide the same level of protection from both types of Omicron.
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