Omicron Strains may Drive New COVID Wave

An uptick in COVID cases is driven by Omicron sub-variants BA.4, BA.5. BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron are not thought to be any more lethal than other types of COVID.

An uptick in COVID cases is driven by Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5, reveal sources.

The more transmissible sub-variants, that emerged in South Africa early this year, are added to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) monitoring list while Europe has designated them as variants of concern.

Omicron Variant of COVID-19
Omicron variant is a mutated strain of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) with faster transmissibility and enhanced virulence compared to the original COVID-19 virus.

‘BA.5 is enroute to become dominant in most European countries including the UK and Portugal. The US and Australia are also seeing rising numbers of infections caused by the two new sub-variants.’

In India, sequenced data from Maharashtra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu has confirmed the presence of the sub-strains of Omicron.

Prof. Azra Ghani, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London, said the rising number of infections was not surprising and might increase further.

"This increase in infection prevalence is likely due to the growth of the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants, which as we have seen elsewhere in Europe, appear to be able to escape immunity generated from previous Omicron subvariants," she was quoted as saying to the Guardian.

New Omicron Sub-Variants BA.4 and BA.5 Spread Across United States
Two new Omicron subvariants are on the rise in the United States, adding to concern of health experts whether they may fuel a summer surge in COVID-19 cases.

"It is therefore possible that we will continue to see some growth in infection prevalence in the coming weeks and consequently an increase in hospitalizations, although these sub-variants do not currently appear to result in any significantly changed severity profile. However, this serves as a reminder that the COVID-19 pandemic is not over," Ghani said.

Omicron Strains: BA.4 and BA.5

BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron are not thought to be any more lethal than other types of COVID. But the two new variants are thought to spread more quickly than BA.2, which was more contagious than the original Omicron.

Several studies have also shown that BA.4 and BA.5 are more transmissible and can avoid immunity induced by both previous COVID infection and vaccination.

Omicron Results in Higher Death Rates
Higher excess deaths during Omicron period has been found when compared to Delta period in Massachusetts as per a study at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

"BA.4 and BA.5 evade existing immune responses from both infection and vaccination better than previous Omicron sub-variants, and that’s why (they have) a transmission advantage," Assoc. Prof. James Wood, a mathematician at University of New South Wales, was quoted as saying to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The high transmission level is partly because immunity may be waning and because of the mutations the virus has undergone.

Local Transmission of Omicron Sub-Variant Detected in Philippines
The local transmission of the highly transmissible Omicron BA.2.12.1 sub-variant of COVID-19 has been confirmed in Philippines.

Many countries have also lifted their COVID restrictions, meaning people are mixing more, which gives the virus more chances to spread. BA.4 and BA.5 also appear to infect people even if they’ve recently had other types of Omicron.

While it is not clear "how big the wave will be or how deadly" it will be, "consistent with the overall picture, we’re starting to see an upswing after two months of decline, a driven by the sub-variants, John Roberts, an actuary tracking COVID, told the Telegraph.

Source-IANS