As the coronavirus continues to evolve, a new highly contagious Omicron variant is appearing in India and other nations, including the United States, experts say.. One of the most common symptoms of the Omicron subvariant BA.2 is nausea. The designation was made on the basis of increasing numbers of BA.2 sequences identified both domestically and internationally. As previously published, data continues to show vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation for Omicron remains high. The analysis looked at 581 people with confirmed Omicron. Updated analysisshows theadditional incremental benefit from each vaccine exposureincluding for boosters, even in those who have had prior infection. The risk assessment also suggests that Omicron displays a reduction in protection offered by having had a previous infection or vaccination. As with other kinds of variant, most will die off relatively quickly. While BA.2 appears to be more transmissible than previous variants, there is no data yet to suggest that it is any more severe. A runny nose, gastrointestinal issues, headache and a skin rash are other common signs and symptoms. More detail will be available in UKHSAs regular variant technical briefings. UKHSA has also published a breakdown of confirmed Omicron cases and SGTF cases by local authority. The data so far suggests an increase in overall reinfection rates, alongside an increase in first infections. Approximately half of PCR tests in the UK are able to detect SGTF. The individuals who have tested positive and their contacts have been asked to self-isolate. Download the data.xlsx. As of 2 May 2022, 21 confirmed cases of Omicron BA.4 and 19 confirmed cases of Omicron BA.5 have been detected in England. The population rate of people becoming infected with Omicron after having previously contracted COVID-19 has increased sharply. However, UKHSA scientists say there is no room to be complacent. That contrasts to Denmark, where it has become dominant. We now know that BA.2 has an increased growth rate which can be seen in all regions in England. Since then, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has classified two subvariants, BA.1.1 and BA.2. Follow the latest self-isolation rules if you develop symptoms wear a mask where required to do so, take regular LFD tests and observe good hand hygiene. We have now identified cases in the East Midlands, East of England, London, South East and North West. "Looking at other countries where BA.2 is now overtaking, we're not seeing any higher bumps in hospitalisation than expected," the WHO's Dr Boris Pavlin says. Therefore, although early suggestions are that individuals may be less likely to require hospitalisation, many more people are likely to become infected. SUMMARY : The basics of the Omicron sub-variant, the BA.5, which is currently the majority in France: BA.5 is more contagious than BA.2 (January wave), which was itself more contagious than BA.1 and even more than Delta (variant 2021). In a subgroup analysis of 4,800 people who were triple-vaccinated and infected with an omicron variant, the authors found that people with BA.2 were 64 percent more likely than BA.1-infected . Runny nose (especially in combination with loss of smell) A runny nose is a universal sign of cold, flu and now COVID-19. At this point it is not possible to determine where the sublineage may have originated. Here is what we know about it. ; The incubation time (time to onset of symptoms) is a bit shorter: 3 days. However, it should serve as objective evidence that this pandemic is not over. This new mutation dubbed BA.2.75 is concerning scientists because it appears to spread fast, bypassing the protection offered by COVID-19 vaccines and immunity from previous infection, the Associated Press reported Monday. The individuals who have tested positive and their contacts are all isolating. Over 40% of hospital admissions were in London. The individuals that have tested positive and their contacts are all isolating. Top of the list with a prevalence of 80. And even if it does become the dominant version of Omicron, it may not actually alter the trajectory of the pandemic in countries that have seen a big wave of BA.1. The guidance on vaccination is changing to help all of us bolster our defences in the face of this new variant. UKHSAs latest National flu and COVID-19 surveillance report indicates that the increase in COVID-19 case rates and hospitalisations continues to show signs of slowing. Lower back pain. However, the preliminary data showed effectiveness against the new variant appears to increase considerably in the early period after a booster dose, providing around 70% to 75% protection against symptomatic infection. It remains vital that anyone with COVID-19 symptoms isolates and gets aPCRtest immediately. UKHSA will continue to monitor the situation closely as a matter of routine, as we do all data relating to SARS-CoV-2 variants both in the UK and internationally. For some more vulnerable a third dose is available. Scientists in the UK and abroad are closely monitoring BA.2, a sub-variant of Omicron. Protection against hospitalisation from vaccines is good against the Omicron variant. You will not always know whether someone you come into contact with is at higher risk of becoming seriously ill from respiratory infections, including COVID-19. According to the CDC, the Omicron variant spreads more easily than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and the Delta variant. We are working as fast as possible to gather more evidence about any impact the new variant may have on severity of disease or vaccine effectiveness. As we learn to live safely with COVID-19, there are actions we can all take to help reduce the risk of catching COVID-19 and passing it on to others. We continue to monitor all recombinants closely, routinely through our world-leading genomic surveillance and sequencing capability. Neutralisation studies are currently being undertaken at the University of Oxford. There is insufficient data to make any assessment of protection against severe disease, or to assess the severity of illness caused by Omicron. It is vital that everyone over the age of 40 who is eligible for a booster jab comes forward as soon as possible to get increased protection against this new variant. The COVID Omicron sub-variant BA.2, informally dubbed the "Stealth Omicron" variant, is able to reinfect people who have already had Omicron, a new study suggests. An important question is whether BA.2 or BA.3 will become a new dominating "variant of concern". Currently, approximately half of all tests conducted in the UK are able to detect SGTF. A second BTN162b2 booster was previously found to be 52% and 72% effective in preventing Omicron BA.1 infection and hospitalization, respectively, in adults 60 years. Face coverings in crowded indoor spaces and hand washing will help to reduce transmission of infection and are especially important if you have any respiratory symptoms. Dr Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at UKHSA, said: Hospitalisations always lag a few weeks behind infections, therefore it isnt surprising that we have started to see people being admitted to hospital with the Omicron variant. Many people who have Omicron say it feels like a common cold, and here are the 8 early warning signs you need to look out for. Analyses of sequenced SGTF samples has indicated that until mid-November, more than 99% of these were Delta cases. Recent studies suggest that BA.2 has a. What is the stealth omicron, or BA.2, variant? BA.2 attacking abdomen instead of lungs. Experts in Kolkata say that BA.2 symptoms are mostly associated with abdomen and stomach instead of cough or shortness of breath. If the growth rate and doubling time continue at the rate we have seen in the last 2 weeks, we expect to see at least 50% of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases to be caused by Omicron variant in the next 2 to 4 weeks. Dr Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of UKHSA, said: We are continuing our efforts to understand the effect of this variant on transmissibility, severe disease, mortality, antibody response and vaccine efficacy. According to Denmark's Statens Serum Institut (SSI), BA.2 infections rose to account for about half of the country's reported Covid cases in January. XBB (V-22OCT-02) is a recombinant lineage derived from 2 previous Omicron sublineages. Aside from all of the usual COVID symptoms, like a dry cough, a scratchy throat, fatigue, and muscle aches, the Stealth variant is thought to cause a few other distinct issues. Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Advisor at UKHSA said: It is clear that the increasing prevalence of Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 are significantly increasing the case numbers we have observed in recent weeks. The vaccination status was unknown for 6 people, while 8 had received a single dose. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published its latest COVID-19 variant technical briefing. So far, there have been 717 V-22OCT-01 sequences uploaded from the UK to the international GISAID database. Vaccine efficacy analysis continues to show lower effectiveness for symptomatic Omicron disease. The v This will include analysing live samples of the new variant in our laboratories to investigate properties such as response to current vaccines. In the age group of 20-50 years, significant severity is not expected. Congestion. We use some essential cookies to make this website work. The odds of reporting long COVID symptoms four to eight weeks after a first COVID-19 infection were 21.8% higher after an infection compatible with Omicron BA.2 than Omicron BA.1 among adults who were triple-vaccinated when infected; this was after adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and time since last COVID-19 vaccination. Anewrisk assessment for OmicronVOC-21NOV-01 (B.1.1.529)has also been published and is available here. To date, there have been 426 cases of Omicron BA.2 confirmed by Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS), with the earliest dated 6 December 2021. Increased case detection through focused contact tracing has led to more cases of the Omicron variant being identified and confirmed, as we have seen in other countries globally. It has since swept the globe, eventually vanquishing other variants including delta. More evidence is needed to know whether this is due to changes in the virus behaviour or to epidemiological conditions. This is still a very small number of cases but is being investigated carefully to understand whether it is related to travel, any other variant or whether there is evidence of spread of Omicron beginning in the community. Yet fears of another Omicron wave in the United States may be. COVID-19 has not gone away, so it is also vitally important that people continue to follow the guidance. [92] Reactions [ edit] Vaccine producers [ edit] As is routine for any new variants under investigation, UKHSAis carrying out laboratory and epidemiological investigations to better understand the properties of this variant. But the preliminary assessment found no evidence that vaccines would be any less effective against symptomatic disease for either sub-variant. This matches a recent study led by Oxford University and the Office for National Statistics (ONS), using data from the COVID-19 Infection Survey produced by the latter. We have also learnt that BA.2 has a slightly higher secondary attack rate than BA.1 in households. Vaccine effectiveness against severe disease from Omicron is not yet known but is expected to be significantly higher than protection against symptomatic disease. Cases are currently very high in the UK, and even a relatively low proportion requiring hospitalisation could result in a significant number of people becoming seriously ill. The latest Omicron SARS-CoV-2 subvariant, which scientists have labeled BA.2.12.1, is on track to become the most virulent strain in the United States currently. Read about our approach to external linking. UKHSA is undertaking further detailed studies. These are some of the symptoms that you should be looking out for: High temperature. The pace of sharing sequences by India is very slow, median days from collection to deposition is 69 days according to GISAID. We will continue to closely analyse all available biological, epidemiological and genomic evidence for any SARS-CoV-2 variant in the UK or internationally. Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter', Why half of India's urban women stay at home. Because of a quirk in how it shows up in test results, we can see the numbers of suspected BA.2 doubled in the week up to 24 January. The sub-variant of Omicron has been detected in 57 countries now, the WHO says. One study has suggested that it may be difficult to identify this variant . Experts say BA.2 has extensive mutations and is about 40 percent more infectious than the original Omicron variant. There is currently no data on the severity of BA.2. As is routine for any new variants under investigation,UKHSAis carrying out laboratory and epidemiological investigations to better understand the characteristics of this variant. The highly transmissible Omicron variant now accounts for half of the world's infections. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published a new variant technical briefing containing an updated Omicron risk assessment, alongside analysis on vaccine efficacy, sub-lineages and symptoms. A major ailment is not to be expected for the age group 20-50 years. 2 or Stealth Omicron causes. The technical briefing also includes early analysis of vaccine effectiveness against the Omicron variant compared to Delta.