Omicron’s contagious family affair

Hong Kong continues to battle against the contagious BA.2 variant. (Photo: Andrii Makukha)

BA.2 is capping off 2022’s first quarter as the world’s most dominant COVID-19 strain. Is it anything new and should we be worried?

The world’s most dominant variant

The Omicron BA.2 subvariant is now the dominant COVID-19 strain worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). As of March 17, it represented 86% of all cases.

If BA.1 was 2.7-3.3 times more contagious than Delta, BA.2 is 33% more likely to spread than BA.1. Dubbed the "stealth variant”, BA.2 has eight more mutations that make it slightly harder to track than BA.1 and BA.1.1 using a PCR test.  

However, it’s not shown to be any more severe. It’s also less likely to reinfect people who already had BA.1. Thankfully.

But as masks fell, cases rose. In mid-January, BA.2 had taken over BA.1 in Denmark and the UK. By February, it was already found in countries like India, China, Bangladesh, and Brunei, with Southeast Asia having the highest number of cases (44.7%) at the time.

BA.2 made up 98% of new infections in the Philippines by then too. This has not changed COVID-19 response in the country. Though it has extended the surge in other parts of the world, the Philippines was lucky enough to emerge low risk by mid-February.

Notably, it’s still to blame for Hong Kong’s deadly surge. However, it’s either because their elderly population is largely unvaccinated or everyone else is just lacking in natural immunity (see also: Too much of a good thing is still bad.). If they have been vaccinated, the available brands, Sinovac and Sinopharm, haven’t been a big help against Omicron either.

Any other boosters are fine though. According to the UK Health Security Agency, an mRNA booster restores waning protection and prevents hospitalization and death. 

The world’s most contagious family

BA.2 is nothing new though. Omicron already had three subvariants when it was first discovered in November, though the parent was said to have emerged as early as March of 2021. 

BA.1 and BA.2’s lesser known sibling, BA.3 is a combination of the two, though not as widespread. Both BA.2 and BA.3 can only be found by genomic sequencing. South Africa does this better than most countries, proven through their record-speed response to Omicron.

Deltacron is another relative, but so far it’s not a variant of concern yet. Hopefully, it will stay that way.

So far, more severe variants Alpha, Beta, and Delta have been relegated to old news and cases globally are falling. It seems COVID-19 is headed down the common cold route at this rate, but if you’re still a crowd-avoiding, mask-wearing citizen like me, you’d still freak out over the notion of other countries—especially Western ones—dropping restrictions long before we’re in the clear. 

If anything, the 40% uptick in deaths last week—a more inclusive count, to say the least—should be enough cause for concern. Less testing could be to blame for lower cases, but out of sight, out of mind, right?