BA.2 is found to be able to alarmingly reinfect patients originally infected by Omicron BA.1. Scientists in the UK and abroad are closely monitoring BA.2, a sub-variant of Omicron. The individual tested positive after travel to the UK and is linked to travel to Southern Africa. The risk assessment conducted by UKHSA together with academic partners found that CH.1.1 and XBB.1.5 are currently the variants most likely to take over from BQ.1 as the next dominant variant in the UK, unless further novel variants arise. However, it should serve as objective evidence that this pandemic is not over. "We must remain vigilant and take up vaccinations. As of January 10 2022, 53 sequences of the BA.2 sub-lineage of Omicron had been identified in the United Kingdom. All age groups are affected, including the 75s and over, who are due a spring booster jab to top up protection. Of symptomatic cases, loss of smell and taste was found to be more common in people who tested positive for Delta than those who had Omicron. Download the data.xlsx. The most important thing everyone can do now is to get any vaccine dose that you are eligible for it is by far the most effective action you can take to protect yourself, your families and your communities. Please make sure to wear a mask in line with government guidance, including on public transport and in shops, to help break the chains of transmission and slow the spread of this new variant. BA.2, also coined as the "stealth" variant, is a relative of Omicron's original variant, BA.1, which tore through the Australian community over Christmas and the New Year period. ; The incubation time (time to onset of symptoms) is a bit shorter: 3 days. The analysis looked at 581 people with confirmed Omicron. The early observations for 2 doses of AstraZeneca are particularly likely to be unreliable as they are based on small numbers and are likely to reflect an older population and a population with more co-morbidities than those given the Pfizer vaccine. Positive tests with sufficient virus detected from people arriving in the UK are sent for confirmation through Whole Genome Sequencing, regardless of the presence or absence of SGTF. We should all continue to test regularly with LFDs [lateral flow devices] and take a PCR [polymerase chain reaction] test if symptoms develop.". A preliminary assessment did not find evidence of a difference in vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease for BA.2 compared to BA.1. It is also absolutely critical that we all do what we can to reduce transmission in the community so that we have time to administer as many booster doses as possible. We have also learnt that BA.2 has a slightly higher secondary attack rate than BA.1 in households. Everybody who is contacted or has symptoms should take a PCR test as soon as possible, even if they have received a positive COVID-19 PCR test within the last 90 days. While BA.2 appears to be more transmissible than previous variants, there is no data yet to suggest that it is any more severe. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published its latest COVID-19 variant technical briefing. We expect the vaccines to show higher protection against the serious complications of COVID-19, so if you havent yet had your first 2 doses please book an appointment straight away. It was designated a variant of concern (VOC) on Saturday 27 November. Data and analysis will be released in due course through our regular surveillance reporting. BA.2 infections in Germany are also growing faster than BA.1 and Delta, according to Dr Meera Chand, Covid-19 director at the UKHSA. There will be no other categorisation of variants, including no variant under investigation (VUI) category. Symptoms of BA.2 appear to largely mirror those of the original version of the omicron variant: an upper respiratory illness that causes sore throat, cough, congestion, headache and fatigue. In India, BA.2 is rapidly replacing the Delta and Omicron BA.1 variants of Covid, BA.2 was first detected in the Philippines, About half of new cases in Denmark are caused by BA.2, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, Mother who killed her five children euthanised, Alex Murdaugh jailed for life for double murder, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus, Zoom boss Greg Tomb fired without cause, US sues Exxon over nooses found at Louisiana plant. As I previously reported, omicron subvariants have a shorter incubation period, which is why the symptoms may appear earlier. Where individuals are identified as being a possible or probable case of Omicron, their close contacts will be contacted and advised they are required to isolate for 10 days, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated or received a negative COVID-19 test result. BA.2.75.2 as a new variant but singled it out as an . No cases have been identified in the UK. The World Health Organization has been monitoring SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19) since January 2020, during which time the variant Omicron has been identified, which is technically known as BA.1 or B.1.1.529.The WHO is now monitoring a sub-variant of Omicron, known as BA.2, which has been described as "stealth Omicron," because it has genetic mutations that potentially make it . UKHSA has also published analyses related to the original Omicron strain BA.1. The UK has been hard-hit by a further spike in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks, with infections being driven by a sub-lineage of the Omicron variant known as BA.2 or "Stealth Omicron". Previous updates were published by Public Health England. A detrimental change in biological properties (changes in transmissibility, severity or immune evasion) compared to the current dominant variant. Runny or congested nose Feeling fatigued Headache New, continuous cough Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing Muscle or body aches New loss of a sense of taste or smell Sore throat Nausea or vomiting Diarrhoea They advise that if you develop one or more of these symptoms you should take a Covid test as soon as possible. Increased case detection through focused contact tracing has led to more cases of the Omicron variant being identified and confirmed, as we have seen in other countries globally. Of those patients admitted to hospital,17had received a booster vaccine, 74 people had 2 doses and 27 people were not vaccinated. If you have any symptoms, take a test. A further case has been identified in Scotland, bringing the total to 10. The pace of sharing sequences by India is very slow, median days from collection to deposition is 69 days according to GISAID. At the moment there is much that is not yet clear. Dr Meera Chand, Director of Clinical and Emerging Infection at UKHSA, said: It is not unexpected to see new variants of SARS-CoV-2 emerge. UKHSAs most recent variant technical briefing includes examination of a number of recombinant variants which have been identified in the UK, as well as updated epidemiological and genomic analysis of Omicron BA.2. Dr Meera Chand, Director of Clinical and Emerging Infections at UKHSA, said: The reclassification of these variants as variants of concern reflects emerging evidence on the growth of BA.4 and BA.5 internationally and in the UK. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? They say its possible that the virus has now changed its pattern and is affecting the stomach. The total number of confirmed cases in England is now 22. There is currently no evidence of community transmission within the UK. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has identified 2 further cases of COVID-19 with mutations consistent with B.1.1.529 in England, in addition to the previous 3 confirmed cases of the SARS-CoV-2 variant known as B.1.1.529 on 27 and 28 November. Well be undertaking further analysis to investigate the small rise in the number of children admitted to hospital but currently coronavirus (COVID-19) poses a very low health risk to children and infants. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has released variant technical briefing 41. UKHSA is acting to get scientific information available as quickly as possible in order to inform the right balance of interventions to prevent transmission and protect lives. XBB.1.5 remains at very low prevalence in the UK, so estimates of growth are highly uncertain. Dr Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Advisor for UKHSA, said: Ongoing variant analysis is an important part of our pandemic response. BA.2 is estimated to account for approximately 93.7% of cases in England, with the highest prevalence in the South East (96.4%) and the lowest in the East Midlands (91.1%). While there is a suggestion that this wanes slightly after 15 weeks, protection in this age group remains high at over 85%. All 3 subvariants have spike protein mutations of L452 and elude immunity from prior BA1 infection. Its very likely that we will find more cases over the coming days as we are seeing in other countries globally and as we increase case detection through focused contact tracing. Because of a quirk in how it shows up in test results, we can see the numbers of suspected BA.2 doubled in the week up to 24 January. In England, the infection rate increased in those aged 25 years to 49 years and those aged 70 years and over in the week ending 21 February 2023. 8 Research published in April 2022 in The Lancet also found. The Delta variant, for example, comprises 200 different sub-variants. It is vital that everyone over the age of 40 who is eligible for a booster jab comes forward as soon as possible to get increased protection against this new variant. UKHSA, in partnership with scientific bodies across the globe, is constantly monitoring the status of SARS-CoV-2 variants as they emerge and develop worldwide. In the most recent week of data (specimen dates from 30 November 2021 reported as of 6 December), the number of cases with SGTF has increased to 705. Its critical that anyone with COVID-19 symptoms isolates and gets a PCR test immediately. This sub-lineage, which was designated by Pangolin on 6 December 2021, does not have the spike gene deletion at 69-70 that causes S-gene target failure (SGTF), which has previously been used as a proxy to detect cases of Omicron. According to the COVID Symptom Study, the five most common symptoms are the same: Runny nose, headache, fatigue, sneezing and sore throat. How are Covid rules changing across UK schools? AstraZeneca was the main vaccine used early in the programme in care homes and among those in clinical risk groups. As of May 2022, BA.2.12.1 was spreading in the US and two new subvariants of Omicron named BA.4 and BA.5, first detected in January 2022, spread in South Africa. UKHSA has updated its stay at home guidance and non-household contacts guidance to reflect changes to self-isolation requirements for contacts of people who have been identified as a suspected or confirmed case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. It is testament to the diligence and scientific expertise of my colleagues at UKHSA, and the genomic sequencing capacity developed through the pandemic, that this new variant has been identified and analysed so quickly. The COVID Omicron sub-variant BA.2, informally dubbed the "Stealth Omicron" variant, is able to reinfect people who have already had Omicron, a new study suggests. The UKHSAs COVID-19 variant technical briefing 43, published today, includes epidemiological analysis that shows that Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 now make up more than half of new COVID-19 cases in England, accounting for approximately 22% and 39% of cases, respectively. The vaccination status was unknown for 6 people, while 8 had received a single dose. What we know is that it is certainly growing as a proportion of overall cases in the UK. Since the middle of February, this growth rate has settled at approximately 75% higher than other circulating Omicron lineages in England. According to Boden-Albala said, those symptoms may include the following: Fever Chills Fatigue Cough Body aches Shortness of breath Sore throat Additionally, some people may report upper. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has released a new variant technical briefing detailing updated analysis of epidemiological and genomic data relating to SARS-CoV-2 variants currently circulating in the UK, including the XBB.1.5 variant which has been increasing in the US in recent months. This analysis found that the risk of presentation to emergency care or hospital admission with Omicron (testing for symptomatic or asymptomatic infection) was approximately half of that for Delta, while the risk of hospital admission alone with Omicron was approximately one-third of that for Delta. However, cases of the variant continue to rise at an extraordinary rate already surpassing the record daily number in the pandemic.

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