A sub - lineage of the super - communicable Omicron edition is under investigation by the UK Health Security Agency . However , you’re able to take your finger off the panic button for now : while health authorities clear trust this strange “ sister ” of the original Omicron form is worth preserve an middle on , mutations in a virus are to be expected and do n’t necessarily spell out doom .
know as BA.2 , the computer virus is the “ sis ” of the original Omicron derivation BA.1 . There are clear genetic similarities between BA.2 and BA.1 , but also a significant identification number of different mutation at significant sites that make it stand out as its own sub - lineage . consort toStatens Serum Institut , the difference between BA.1 and BA.2 is greater than the remainder between the original SARS - CoV-2 strain and the Alpha variant .
The UK Health Security Agency say ina reportpublished last week that BA.2 does not contain a notable spike deletion that was antecedently used to identify Omicron cases in PCR tests . Some virologist havepointed outthat this may be why BA.2 was ab initio misdescribed as a “ stealth form ” as it was tricky to tell apart in tests .
Cases of BA.2 are on the rise in the UK , Denmark , Norway , and Sweden . In Denmark , it currently makes up almost one-half of their Omicron cases , after accounting for just 20 percentage of case in the last week of 2021 . As of January 10 , at least 2,093 cases of BA.2 have been describe worldwide , 53 of which are in the UK , according to the UK Health Security Agency report .
There ’s currently not enough data point to truly know whether this submarine sandwich - stock is any more dangerous , baneful , vaccine - resistant , or transmittable than the original BA.1 lineage . Promisingly , initial depth psychology by the Statens Serum Institut show no differences in hospitalizations for BA.2 compared to BA.1 . Although the sharp rise in BA.2 cases could advise it ’s more transmissible , many scientists come out to believe it ’s too soon to make any bold assumption .
" Consistent maturation across multiple countries is evidence BA.2 may be some degree more inherited than BA.1,“tweetedTom Peacock , a virologist from Imperial College London .
" alas this is really where the evidence mostly ends – we do not currently have a strong handle on antigenicity , severity or a much evidence for how much more transmissibility BA.2 might have over BA.1 – however we can make some dead reckoning / early observations . "
