The lineages’ rise seems to stem from their ability to infect people who were immune to earlier forms of Omicron and other variants.
Credit: Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via GettyMere weeks after the variant’s BA.2 lineage caused surges globally, two more Omicron spin-offs are on the rise worldwide. First spotted by scientists in South Africa in April and linked to a subsequent rise in cases there, BA.4 and BA.5 are the newest members of Omicron’s growing family of coronavirus subvariants. They have been detected in dozens of countries worldwide.
Korber and Fischer also found that many genome sequences that are classified as BA.2 in public databases are actually BA.4 or BA.5. As a result, researchers could be underestimating the variants’ ongoing rise, as well as the diversity of mutations carried by them.
On the basis of the rise of BA.5 in Switzerland — where BA.4 prevalence is low — Althaus estimates that about 15% of people there will get infected. But countries are now likely to have distinct immune profiles because their histories of COVID-19 waves and vaccination rates differ, Althaus adds. As a result, the sizes of BA.4 and BA.5 waves will vary from place to place. “It might be 5% in some countries and 30% in others. It all depends on their immunity profile,” he says.
Norge Siste Nytt, Norge Overskrifter
Similar News:Du kan også lese nyheter som ligner på denne som vi har samlet inn fra andre nyhetskilder.
What Omicron’s BA.4 and BA.5 variants mean for the pandemicThe lineages’ rise seems to stem from their ability to infect people who were immune to earlier forms of Omicron and other variants.
Les mer »
What Omicron’s BA.4 and BA.5 variants mean for the pandemicThe lineages’ rise seems to stem from their ability to infect people who were immune to earlier forms of Omicron and other variants.
Les mer »
NPR Cookie Consent and Choices
Les mer »
Pfizer Says Tweaked COVID-19 Shots Boost Omicron ProtectionPfizer says tweaking its COVID-19 vaccine to better target the omicron variant is safe and boosts protection.
Les mer »
Pfizer and BioNTech say updated Covid-19 boosters show increased immune response against Omicron variantTwo Pfizer and BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine boosters updated to target the Omicron variant show a substantially higher immune response than the current Covid-19 vaccine, the companies said Saturday.
Les mer »
Pfizer says tweaked COVID-19 shots boost omicron protectionThe vaccines currently used in the U.S. still offer strong protection against severe COVID-19 disease and death -- especially if people have gotten a booster dose.
Les mer »