Another omicron subvariant that’s apparently “even more transmissible” than the final one is gaining steam across the area, as COVID-19 case counts proceed to rise.
The subvariant BA.2.12.1 — an offshoot of the BA.2 omicron “stealth” variant — now accounts for 20% of recent COVID instances in New England, in accordance with the CDC tracker. That’s virtually double from 11.5% throughout the earlier week.
New York well being officers lately sounded the alarm concerning the emergence of subvariants BA.2.12.1 and BA.2.12, warning that these extremely contagious new variants are seemingly contributing to rising instances. The subvariants have been estimated to have a 23% to 27% development benefit above the unique BA.2 variant.
“Another new strain that appears to be even more transmissible than the last and that would explain at least some of the rise in cases we are starting to see, though I think we would have seen one even without this,” mentioned Matthew Fox, a Boston University School of Public Health epidemiology professor.
“The good news is that it does not appear to be more severe than any of the last omicron variants — at least so far — and so we are really looking at more cases, but hopefully not a sharp increase in hospitalizations and deaths,” he added. “We will have to keep our eye on it.”
Lots remains to be not recognized about BA.2.12.1, added Davidson Hamer, a Boston University School of Public Health infectious ailments specialist. There haven’t been ample research to adequately characterize its transmissibility, he mentioned.
“Since there is evidence that BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1 are quickly becoming the major sublineages of BA.2 in New York and New England, this suggests that it may be more transmissible as it is displacing other omicron-related variants,” Hamer mentioned.
“Similarly, there are not any solid data yet on its severity, so it is hard to say much about this,” he added. “We certainly need to track this closely and try to learn more about it over the next few weeks.”
Virus instances had been plummeting in Massachusetts following the omicron surge however then began rising a number of weeks in the past because the BA.2 omicron “stealth” variant took maintain. The day by day common for instances within the Bay State has jumped from about 600 infections in mid-March to just about 2,000 instances final week.
Meanwhile, masks mandates have been lifted, together with the masks order on public transportation.
“I am concerned about the worsening wave in Massachusetts,” Hamer mentioned. “It is not as abrupt as omicron was, but it has continued to progress based on the wastewater data, rising case counts and increasing proportion of positive tests.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”