New Data on the Diversity of Omicron

The United Kingdom's Health Security Agency has published new data regarding the BA.2 variant of the Omicron strain of coronavirus. This information was reported by lenta.ru, citing the agency's website.

British doctors have noted that it spreads more rapidly than its predecessor, BA.1: “BA.2 has growth rates of BA.1 in all the English regions where there are sufficient cases to assess it,” emphasized the scientists.

Experts analyzed and found that patients infected with the BA.2 virus transmitted the infection to family members in 13.4% of cases. This figure exceeds that of the primary distribution data for the Omicron strain by 3.1%.

The agency's chief medical advisor, Dr. Susan Hopkins, warned that the BA.2 variant is more likely to reinfect patients. However, there is currently no information on the severity of illness caused by infection with such a mutation of the coronavirus.