Omicron new variant BA.2.75 has stronger infectivity than BA.4 and BA.5?

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Omicron new variant BA.2.75 has stronger infectivity than BA.4 and BA.5?

The BA.2.75 variant was first discovered in India in early May this year, and it was mutated from the Omicron sub-variant BA.2.

Where did such "WEIRD" COVID Omicron variant come from?

The Associated Press reported Monday that the new mutation, known as BA.2.75, has caught scientists’ attention because it appears to spread quickly, bypassing the protection and immunity from previous infections offered by the COVID-19 vaccine force.

But whether it can cause more severe disease than other forms of COVID-19 is unclear, experts say.

“It’s too early for us to draw too many conclusions,” Matthew Binnicker, director of clinical virology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, told The Associated Press , “but it does seem like, especially in India, transmission rates show exponential growth.”

Shishi Luo is head of infectious diseases at Helix, which provides virus sequencing information to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Luo told The Associated Press that the emergence of the new variant around the world ” is an early, ongoing indication of its spread.”

In addition to the three most recent cases in India and the United States, BA.2.75 has been detected in 10 other countries, including Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Experts worry that this variant binds more easily to cells and evades the body’s protective antibodies. But news reports point out that vaccines and boosters remain the best defense against severe COVID-19.

“Some people might say, ‘Well, vaccinations and promotions didn’t stop people from getting infected.’ Really yes, it’s true,” Binnicker told The Associated Press . “But what we’re seeing is that the rate of people ending up in hospital and dying has dropped significantly.

As more people get vaccinated, booster shots, and natural infections, we’re starting to see the background levels of global immunity rise.

A reformulated vaccine for the more recent Omicron variant should be available in the U.S. this fall.

South Korea: First case related Omicron mutant strain BA.2.75

According to a report on the website of Singapore’s “Lianhe Zaobao” on the 15th, South Korea discovered the first confirmed case of BA.2.75 mutant strain of Omicron subtype.

The South Korean government said on the 15th that it would not consider further epidemic prevention for the time being. measure.

According to the report, Yonhap News Agency reported that Sun Yinglai, head of the social strategy team of the Central Emergency Response Headquarters in South Korea, said frankly that the BA.2.75 strain had the risk of spreading in the community.

The Korean government will continue to pay attention to whether this mutant strain will become the mainstream strain.

If the mutant strain of BA.2.75 spreads further, the Korean government will take into account indicators such as the fatality rate and severe illness rate abroad, and then discuss countermeasures.

According to reports from the Korea Agency for Disease Control on the 14th, a recent random sampling test found that a man in his 60s in Incheon was confirmed to be infected with the BA.2.75 mutant strain.

The patient did not travel abroad during the incubation period of the virus and is currently under home quarantine.