The BA.2 omicron subvariant is here in RI. What we know about it.
PROVIDENCE — The BA.2 omicron subvariant was detected in Rhode Island on Thursday, the state Health Department has confirmed. Two cases were identified, according to department spokesman Joseph Wendelken.
“More than 30 states across the country have identified BA-2 cases, and many countries throughout the world have identified cases,” Wendelken told The Journal on Friday morning. “We anticipated identifying BA.2 cases in Rhode Island.”
According to Wendelken, “there is no data to suggest that BA.2 is more severe than other omicron variants. An important point is that BA.2 is not a new variant of COVID-19. This is the omicron variant, which is why data are not presented separately on CDC’s site.”
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Wendelken said that “preliminary data indicate that the vaccines – including the booster doses – that we are administering provide protection against BA.2. Booster doses significantly increase your protection against BA.2 and other forms of COVID-19.”
How many cases have been detected in the world?
As of Friday, 35,308 in at least 62 countries.
How many in the U.S.?
As of Friday, 309 in at least 36 states, including Rhode Island.
Where did it originate?
Unknown at this point, but the first case was detected in the Philippines in November.
Where is it most prevalent?
Denmark, the Philippines, Nepal, India, Singapore, Botswana, Georgia, Myanmar and New Zealand, in descending order, were the top 10 countries as of Friday.
Has the World Health Organization labeled it a variant of concern?
Not at this time.
Why has it earned the nickname “stealth” variant?
Because it has certain genetic characteristics that make it more difficult to identify with PCR testing. Sequencing, however, does identify it.
How transmissible is BA.2?
About one-and-a-half times more transmissible than the “original” omicron variant, known as BA.1, according to a study by Denmark’s Statens Serum Institute, which in late January reported that BA.2 “is inherently substantially more transmissible than BA.1.”
Does it lead to more serious disease than “original” omicron?
Although more study is required, apparently not.
“Looking at other countries where BA.2 is now overtaking, we’re not seeing any higher bumps in hospitalization than expected,” Dr. Boris Pavlin of the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Response Team said Tuesday during an online press conference.
What evidence exists that vaccination is effective against BA.2?
A late-January report from the U.K. Health Security Agency stated that “a preliminary assessment did not find evidence of a difference in vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease for BA.2 compared to BA.1.”
But, as has frequently been the case during the pandemic, the agency published a caveat: “However, numbers included in this study are relatively small” and further study could reach a different conclusion.
The two Rhode Island cases were first announced by Health Department interim director Dr. James McDonald in an interview Thursday afternoon with WPRI.
Sources: Rhode Island Department of Health, BBC News, The Washington Post, Reuters, WebMD and outbreak.info, a project from Scripps Research that receives funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, among other sources.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: The BA.2 COVID omicron subvariant is in RI. What we know about it.
