The number of COVID-19 cases has been on the downfall for the past few weeks but a recent study suggests that people and health organisations around the world need to be on alert because Omicron subvariant BA.2 can emerge as the most concerning variant to global health. The study found that the highly contagious Omicron variant is on the decline but its subvariant BA.2 is on the rise. Several countries in Asia and Europe have seen a surge in cases related to this sub-variant. The study has been done by the University of Tokyo and it is yet to be peer-reviewed.
At the moment, both subvariants BA.2 and BA.1 are recognised together as Omicron and they are almost indistinguishable. “Based on our findings, we propose that BA.2 should be recognised as a unique variant of concern, and this SARS-CoV-2 variant should be monitored in-depth,” said Kei Sato of the University of Tokyo.
In a related development, Eric Feigl-Ding, a Harvard-trained epidemiologist, recently said that the Omicron subvariant BA.2 is ‘seriously bad news.’ The remarks and study come at a time when several countries have lifted COVID-19 related restrictions considering the decline in the number of cases.
Eric Feigl-Ding expressed concern over it and said that 90 per cent of cases in Denmark are related to subvariant and this suggests a significant health impact. “Even the World Health Organisation is getting very concerned about BA.2 variant outcompeting and displacing old Omicron,” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has issued a statement stating that available data suggest that the BA.2 sublineage should continue to be considered a variant of concern and that it should remain classified as Omicron.
WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) emphasized that BA.2 should continue to be monitored as a distinct sublineage of Omicron by public health authorities.