So what exactly is the new subvariant of omicron? Is it spreading faster than previous iterations of the virus? And does it cause more severe illness? Here’s is what we know so far.
BA.2.12.1 appears to be approximately 25% more transmissible than the original BA.2 subvariant of omicron. For context, BA.2 was 50% more transmissible than the original omicron variant when it roared onto the national scene in early March.The short answer is no, and for the longer answer, omicron subvariants have generally “caused less-severe disease” than prior variants, according to the CDC, and BA.2.12.
Pfizer says it will seek emergency use authorization for a three-dose course of its COVID-19 vaccine in pediatric patients ages 6 months to 5 years old after publishing data from it's latest study., approximately 47.5% of COVID cases in the United States are believed to be linked to this new subvariant of omicron.
At the rate that the subvariant has been spreading, it will in all likelihood become the dominant strain of the virus in the United States when the CDC has its weekly COVID variant metrics update on Tuesday. The BA.2.12.1 subvariant was first tracked by the CDC earlier this year, but really started gaining steam in the month of April, going from 7.4% of cases on April 2 to an estimated 31.5% of cases by the end of the month.
During that time, the original BA.2 subvariant of omicron saw its dominance diminish, and that trend has continued through the start of May as well.
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