While the BA.2 variant continued to drive the majority of infections, accounting for 61.9% of all cases in the week ending April 30, BA.2.12.1 continues to rise. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the sub-variant reached 36.5 percent of cases last week, up from 26.6 percent in the week ending April 23.
As cases increase in the US, we are far past the January Peak belonging to the original omicron BA.1 variant.
Omicron subtypes have grown “in part because it has become harder“ for our immune systems to detect, ”said Dr. Eric Topol, professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research.Written in Los Angeles Times article Posted on Wednesday.
“This means that even millions of people who had omicron BA.1 infection earlier this year are still vulnerable to BA.2.12.1 infection, especially if they have not been vaccinated,” Topol wrote. “It will help spread and prolong the pandemic.”
BA.12.2.1 appears to be more easily spread than previous infectious strains of Omicron, but the vaccines appear to be well preserved and prevent serious disease, CDC Director Rochelle Valensky told reporters. At the press conference on April 26th.
“It looks like it could have a transfer advantage of approximately 25% over the BA.2 sub-variant,” Valensky said of the new strain. “Further testing is currently underway to understand the impact of BA.2.12.1 on the effectiveness of the vaccine. “Above all, we continue to believe that those who are vaccinated, and especially the stronger ones, continue to have strong protection against serious diseases, including BA.2.12.1”.
Last month, the State of New York warned New Yorkers about the emergence of BA.2.12.1 and another subset of Omicron and their release to the public.
“Although these sub-variants are new, they are not tools to combat them,” state health commissioner Mary T. Basset said on April 13. These tools include vaccines. and boosters, testing, and wearing a face mask indoors.
The rise in infections on Monday pushed New York to the CDC’s average COVID risk level. The city has not imposed any new restrictions so far, but face masks can be returned indoors if the risk level is even higher. According to NBC New York.
Face masks have been the subject of a heated national debate. A judge appointed by Donald Trump overturned the federal travel mask order last month, saying the rule exceeded CDC authority.
However, the CDC released a statement on Tuesday saying it still advises passengers over 2 years old to continue wearing masks on public transportation, including airplanes.
Pfizer said Tuesday that it will update U.S. regulators on the effectiveness of its vaccine on children under 5 in late May or early June.
Source: Huffpost
