Stealth Omicron Becomes Dominant Variant in the US

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] In the United States, the BA.2 subvariant of the COVID-19 Omicron variant (Stealth Omicron) has become the dominant strain.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 29th (local time), citing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that last week, BA.2 variant infections accounted for 55% of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. This is the first time the BA.2 variant has surpassed 50% to become the dominant strain. In some northeastern states such as New York and New Jersey, the proportion is estimated to be over 70%.

The proportion of the BA.2 variant was only about 0.2% of total cases in early January when Omicron was rapidly spreading in the U.S., but it has been gradually increasing since then.

Considering that the trend of case numbers in the U.S. has typically followed those in the UK and the European Union (EU) with a time lag of about three weeks, warnings have emerged that COVID-19 cases in the U.S. may now begin to surge significantly. The BA.2 variant is considered to be more contagious than Omicron.

WSJ reported that health authorities and experts are closely monitoring the spread of the BA.2 variant. Earlier, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, stated that while a sharp increase in cases in the U.S. is unlikely, if such an increase occurs, it would be due to factors including ▲ the rise of the BA.2 variant ▲ lifting of mask mandates ▲ waning immunity.

Recently, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. has shown a plateau, averaging around 30,000 cases per day over the past seven days.

Meanwhile, on the same day, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the fourth dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for adults aged 50 and older.