The new Omicron strain BA.2 is now the leading COVID-19 subvariant in the U.S., CNN reports.
Within the last week, about 54.9 percent of new coronavirus infections are BA.2, per the CDC. The northeast has been hit with the most cases of the subvariant, with over 70 percent of cases qualifying, while the south and mountain west regions of the U.S. have the least. On Saturday, the weekly average of COVID cases in the country increased by four percent to 27,895. Previous CDC estimates revealed that BA.2 accounted for 39 percent of variants across the country, an increase from 34.9 percent from the week ending in March 19.
Though the strain is extremely contagious, U.S. health officials don’t think the additional infections will lead to another wave of virus, since numbers have been on the decline since January. According to NBC News, new CDC guidelines from last month reveal that most Americans are regarded to be in low COVID transmission.
BA.2 is also the leading strain in the world, with Europe currently seeing another swell in case numbers. The W.H.O. reports that between Feb. 16 and March 17, 86 percent of the world’s cases are BA.2, with the subvariants BA.1 and BA.1.1 making up 13 percent of cases.
It’s thought that although it’s easier to spread BA.2 than BA.1, the newest strain doesn’t lead to a more serious sickness. Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the W.H.O.’s COVID-19 technical lead, said on the agency’s website that vaccinations still work against the current mutations of the disease.
“Our vaccines remain incredibly effective at preventing severe disease and death, including against both of the sublineages of BA.1 and BA.2,” she said.
