The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron coronavirus does not appear to be worse or any more severe than its original form, BA.1.
The WHO’s comments follow news that the new BA.2 strain – emerging in a number of countries including Denmark – is overtaking the original, more common Omicron BA.1 subvariant.
Dr Boris Pavlin, part of the WHO’s COVID-19 Response Team, shared that the data so far demonstrates that there appears to be no difference in the virus’ severity and that BA.2 has the potential to replace BA.1 worldwide.
Dr Pavlin spoke about concerns surrounding the transmission of the new subvariant in an online briefing and reinforced the effectiveness of vaccines in providing similar protection against varying forms of Omicron. He said: “Vaccination is profoundly protective against severe disease, including Omicron. BA.2 is rapidly replacing BA.1. Its impact is unlikely to be substantial, although more data are needed.
“Looking at other countries where BA.2 is now overtaking, we’re not seeing any higher bumps in hospitalisation than expected.”
Dr Pavlin noted that the subvariant is already emerging as a dominant strain in the Philippines, Nepal, Qatar, India and Denmark.
According to a Danish study analysing coronavirus infection cases in more than 8,500 Danish households between December and January, BA.2 is more transmissible than the common BA.1 strain, with the ability to infect vaccinated people.
Speaking on behalf of the UK’s pandemic response in light of the emerging BA.2 subvariant, Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical advisor for UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said: “Ongoing variant analysis is an important part of our pandemic response. Thanks to the expertise of scientists at UKHSA and partner organisations, we’re able to respond quickly to new variations of the virus.”
Hopkins added: “We now know that BA.2 has an increased growth rate which can be seen in all regions in England. We have also learnt that BA.2 has a slightly higher secondary attack rate than BA.1 in households.
“Although hospitalisations and deaths remain low, cases are still high in some areas and some age groups so it’s important that we continue to act cautiously as restrictions are lifted. Consider wearing a face covering when in crowded places. Get a vaccine to protect yourself against COVID-19. If you have any symptoms, take a test.”