International Health Officials Investigating 'Stealth Omicron'
MIAMI (CBSMiami) — International health officials are now monitoring a new subvariant of Omicron.
The UK Health Security Agency has declared BA.2 a "variant under investigation."
The World Health Organization has reported cases of BA.2 in at least 40 countries, including the United States.
The subvariant, which has been dubbed "stealth Omicron," was reportedly first identified in India and South Africa in late December 2021.
Dr. Vipin M. Vashishtha reports BA.2 "has 28 unique mutations."
What do we know about BA.2-sub-lineage of Omicron? Is BA.2 different?
— Vipin M. Vashishtha (@vipintukur) January 19, 2022
BA.2 shares 32 mutations w/ BA.1, but it also has 28 unique mutations. Some diff in S1. E is the same, N & M are diff in 1 mutation between the two variants.
And...quite a difference when we go to ORF1ab. 1/ https://t.co/qMjHUsV4J4 pic.twitter.com/sn0TB8avx3
Because of the constituent growth across multiple countries, Vashishtha believes "BA.2 may be some degree more transmissible than BA.1."
While Vashishtha said this subvariant may replace BA.1, he believes it's unlikely to cause a second wave of Omicron.
Denmark's Statens Serum Institut noted that "initial analysis shows no differences in hospitalizations for BA.2 compared to BA.1."