London, Europe Brief News – A sub-variant of Omicron, known as BA.2, has become the most dominant variant globally.
The variant has now prompted a surge of the virus across countries in Asia and Europe.
It also forced China to undergo a strict lockdown for two years.
Experts fear that the variant can cause a new wave in the United States.
According to the World Health Organisation, BA.2 now represents 86 per cent of all sequenced variants, making it more transmissible than the BA.1 and BA.1.1 strains.
Like the original variant, this BA.2 sub-variant have the ability to escape immunity from vaccines and from some antibody treatments.
However, according to UK Health Security Agency data, booster jab guarantees protection, particularly for preventing hospitalisation and death.
What you have to know about BA.2
First detected in the early days of January, the sub-variant is even more transmissible than its highly contagious Omicron siblings, BA.1 and BA.1.1.
As with the other Omicron variants, vaccines are less effective against BA.2 than they are against other variants like Alpha or the original strain of coronavirus, and protection declines over time.
However, according to UK Health Security Agency data, protection is restored by a booster jab. It is particularly for preventing hospitalisation and death.
Moreover, BA.2 is for the scientists to watch rather than to alram the public, concludes the analysis.
