Early analysis suggests it may spread faster than Omicron, though scientists are not certain of this and it has not been designated a “variant of co

BA.2: More than 400 cases of new Omicron sub-variant found in England

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2022-01-22 06:00:05

Early analysis suggests it may spread faster than Omicron, though scientists are not certain of this and it has not been designated a “variant of concern”.

UKHSA said further analysis will be carried out into BA.2 to determine its characteristics and better understand how it could shape Britain’s epidemic in the weeks to come.

Dr Meera Chand, incident director at the UKHSA, said it is not yet clear if the sub-variant causes more severe disease, adding it is natural for viruses to mutate.

“It’s to be expected that we will continue to see new variants emerge,” she said. “Our continued genomic surveillance allows us to detect them and assess whether they are significant.”

“So far, there is insufficient evidence to determine whether BA.2 causes more severe illness than Omicron BA.1, but data is limited and UKHSA continues to investigate.”

It is also not clear where the sub-variant first emerged, but the new strain has been reported in 40 countries, including Denmark, India, Sweden and Singapore, according to the UKHSA.

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