A booster dose was associated with a 74% reduced risk of hospitalisation in the first 2 to 4 weeks after vaccination, with the figure dropping to 66% 10 weeks or more after this dose. Experts in Kolkata say that BA.2 symptoms are mostly associated with abdomen and stomach instead of cough or shortness of breath. 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. Overall, the original Omicron lineage, BA.1, is dominant in the UK and the proportion of BA.2 cases is currently low. A major ailment is not to be expected for the age group 20-50 years. This assessment is based on analysis of UK data showing increased household transmission risk, increased secondary attack rates (such as the chance of each case infecting another individual) and increased growth rates compared to Delta. The two most reported symptom of patients infected by the Stealth Omicron variant is -dizziness and fatigue. SUMMARY : The basics of the Omicron sub-variant, the BA.5, which is currently the majority in France: BA.5 is more contagious than BA.2 (January wave), which was itself more contagious than BA.1 and even more than Delta (variant 2021). As the coronavirus continues to evolve, a new highly contagious Omicron variant is appearing in India and other nations, including the United States, experts say.. 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. At this point it is not possible to determine where the sublineage may have originated. An ad blocker has likely prevented this video content from loading. Omicron sublineages BQ.1 and XBB have been given UKHSA variant designations to facilitate continued studies. New studies are being undertaken to assess this further. The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) said the BA.2 sub-lineage was already prevalent in samples it received at the end of January. News stories, speeches, letters and notices, Reports, analysis and official statistics, Data, Freedom of Information releases and corporate reports. Following the change in JCVI advice today, a booster dose for everyone over 18 years is now recommended and will be available at a minimum of 3 months from your last primary course jab. So far there is not enough evidence to draw conclusions about transmissibility, severity or vaccine effectiveness. A separate UK study also found higher transmissibility for BA.2 compared to BA.1. XBB.1.5 remains at very low prevalence in the UK, so estimates of growth are highly uncertain. Studies have also shown that Omicron infects and multiplies in the upper airways 70 times faster than the previous Delta variant. Since BA.2 is a sub-strain of the Omicron variant, it is expected that its symptoms will be similar. We should all continue to test regularly with LFDs and take a PCR test if symptoms develop. These people are spread around the country and are a mix of age ranges between 18 to 85 years the majority had received 2 doses of vaccination. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 99% of viral DNA submitted to the global GISAID database as of 25 January were identified as this sub-variant. Of those patients admitted to hospital,17had received a booster vaccine, 74 people had 2 doses and 27 people were not vaccinated. After 2 doses, vaccine effectiveness was 9% and 13% respectively for BA.1 and BA.2, after 25+ weeks. Case rates remain high throughout the UK and we must remain vigilant and take up vaccinations. XBB (V-22OCT-02) is a recombinant lineage derived from 2 previous Omicron sublineages. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 99% of viral DNA submitted to the global GISAID database as of 25 January were identified as this sub-variant. The individual tested positive after travel to the UK and is linked to travel to Southern Africa. One dose of any vaccine was associated with a 35% reduced risk of hospitalisation among symptomatic cases with the Omicron variant, 2 doses with a 67% reduction up to 24 weeks after the seconddose and a 51% reduced risk 25 or more weeks after the seconddose. It is the best defence we have against this highly transmissible new variant. BA.2 is found to be able to alarmingly reinfect patients originally infected by Omicron BA.1. Yet fears of another Omicron wave in the United States may be. There will be a coprimary endpoint : Neutralizing antibody titers against the SARS-CoV-2 variant of most prominent public health interest according to pandemic evolution (among D614G, B.1.351, Omicron sub-variants BA.4-5, BQ1.1 and XBB or another recent variant) and against one of the variant targeted by the vaccines. Dr Jenny Harries, Chief Executive ofUKHSA, said: We are continuing our efforts to understand the effect of this variant on transmissibility, severe disease, mortality, antibody response and vaccine efficacy. 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. Since the middle of February, this growth rate has settled at approximately 75% higher than other circulating Omicron lineages in England. UKHSA are continuing to monitor data on the BA.2 sub-lineage closely. ; The incubation time (time to onset of symptoms) is a bit shorter: 3 days. UKHSAis carrying out targeted testing at locations where the positive cases were likely to be infectious. Aside from all of the usual COVID symptoms, like a dry cough, a scratchy throat, fatigue, and muscle aches, the Stealth variant is thought to cause a few other distinct issues. It is 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. Vaccination remains our best defence against future COVID-19 waves, so it is still as important as ever that people come take up all the doses for which they are eligible as soon as possible. Our data also show that 17.5 per cent of people aged 75 years and over have not had a vaccine within the past six months, putting them more at risk of severe disease. 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. Data for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is not included in the UKHSA Technical Briefing. Teams nationally and locally are working at pace to identify and trace all close contacts of every Omicron case. There are simple things you can do in your daily life that will help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections and protect those at highest risk. This matches a recent study led by Oxford University and the Office for National Statistics (ONS), using data from the COVID-19 Infection Survey produced by the latter. Following the change in JCVI advice earlier this week, a booster dose for everyone over 18 years is now recommended and will be available at a minimum of 3 months from your last primary course jab. Read about our approach to external linking. This analysis excludes individuals with confirmed previous COVID-19 infection. We will continue to monitor this situation closely and recommend appropriate public health measures if needed. While BA.1 and BA.2 are similar, they are 20 mutations apart. Work is underway to identify any links to travel. But the preliminary assessment found no evidence that vaccines would be any less effective against symptomatic disease for either sub-variant. As of 2 May 2022, 21 confirmed cases of Omicron BA.4 and 19 confirmed cases of Omicron BA.5 have been detected in England. 34 Subsequent studies that were performed in periods when a mix of BA.1, BA.2, BA.4, and BA.5 viruses circulated have reported low effectiveness of a second booster against . That's because there could be cross-immunity - an infection with BA.1 could offer some protection against BA.2. Our data shows that getting the booster vaccine is more effective against this variant than 2 doses alone. While there is a suggestion that this wanes slightly after 15 weeks, protection in this age group remains high at over 85%. Continue to exercise caution. It is not clear where BA.2 originated, but it was first detected in the Philippines in November. Here is what we know about it. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published the latest variant technical briefing. You will not always know whether someone you come into contact with is at higher risk of becoming seriously ill from respiratory infections, including COVID-19. There are no confirmed cases in Northern Ireland. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) estimates that if Omicron continues to grow at the present rate, the variantwill become the dominant strain, accounting for more than 50% of all COVID-19 infections in the UK by mid-December. COVID-19 has not gone away, so it is also vitally important that people continue to follow the guidance. UKHSA has also this week published further vaccine effectiveness data against hospitalisation following a booster dose. It has since swept the globe, eventually vanquishing other variants including delta. UKHSAs most recent variant technical briefing can be found on GOV.UK. Previous variants of concern which no longer meet the criteria will be redesignated. In the UK, 38 cases of XF have been identified, though none have been seen since mid February. Current guidance from NHS England is that the main symptoms of Covid continue to be a high temperature, a new continuous cough, a loss or change to your sense. BA.1 accounts for most of the cases. UKHSA is undertaking further detailed studies. Dont include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. SGTF is a useful indicator of the presence of Omicron, because as a rule Delta cases have the S-gene and Omicron cases do not. Neither have been designated as variants of concern by UKHSA. These are some of the symptoms that you should be looking out for: High temperature. We are particularly grateful to health protection specialists and the government of South Africa for early sharing of local information on the omicron variant in an exemplary way to support global health security. Genome sequencing among the states is not always fair. pic.twitter.com/ESQupxUet4. Vaccination is critical to help us bolster our defences against this new variant please get your first, second, third or booster jab without delay. New sub-lineages within Delta continue to be identified. Analysis by the UKHSA suggests it could be substantial, although there is a risk of over-estimating growth advantage in the early stages. 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. Protection against hospitalisation from vaccines is good against the Omicron variant. Among those who had received 2 doses of Pfizer or Moderna, effectiveness dropped from around 65 to 70% down to around 10% by 20 weeks after the seconddose. Omicron BA.4 and Omicron BA.5 were designated as variants of concern on 18 May on the basis of an apparent growth advantage over the previously-dominant Omicron BA.2 variant. UKHSAis carrying out targeted testing at locations where the positive cases were likely to be infectious. Please take up this offer as soon as you are eligible to protect yourself, your families and your communities. If you have any symptoms of a respiratory infection, and a high temperature or feel unwell, try to stay at home or away from others especially those who are elderly or vulnerable. 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. 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. Our continued genomic surveillance allows us to further investigate variants that are growing within the UK. While prevalence remains high, make sure to wear your mask in indoor settings and take a lateral flow test before meeting others. Previous updates were published by Public Health England. Spector shared a list of symptom prevalence from people who had tested positive for COVID, most of whom were estimated to have caught BA.2, he said. As we all work to limit the high levels of transmission of this variant over the Christmas period, we are urging people to test regularly, particularly before attending social gatherings. The latest number of COVID-19 cases with mutations consistent with B.1.1.529 in England are published on UKHSAs social media channels. 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. 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. And even if it does become the dominant version of Omicron, it may not actually alter the trajectory of the pandemic in countries that have seen a big wave of BA.1. UKHSAis 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. Those are pretty similar to what people experience with a cold or other seasonal viruses. To date, there have been 426 cases of Omicron BA.2 confirmed by Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS), with the earliest dated 6 December 2021. UKHSA is carrying out targeted testing at locations where the positive cases were likely to be infectious. The individuals who have tested positive and their contacts are all isolating. The designation was made on the basis of increasing numbers of BA.2 sequences identified both domestically and internationally. The full document and underlying data is available on GOV.UK. The individuals who have tested positive and their contacts have been asked to self-isolate. BA.2 continues to demonstrate a substantial growth advantage. Although there was a rapid increase in SARS-CoV-2 infections in care homes during December 2021 in line with case rises in the community, there has not been an associated increase in hospital admissions. As we cautiously return to Plan A, I encourage you to give yourself and your loved ones the best protection possible and Get Boosted Now. The BA.2 subvariant has been referred to as stealth Omicron because it contains genetic mutations that can make it harder to distinguish from the . Vaccination is critical to help us bolster our defences against this new variant so please get your first, second, third or booster jab as soon as you are eligible to protect yourself, your families and your communities. 1 case has been identified in Wales. A thirddose was associated with a 68% (95% confidence interval 52 to 82%) reduced risk of hospitalisation when compared to similar unvaccinated individuals. There is no data to suggest that BA.2 leads to more severe disease than previous Omicron sub-variants. The BA.2 subvariant of Omicron, or the "stealth" variant, has been outcompeting the previously dominant BA.1 subvariant in several countries. Follow the latest self-isolation rules if you develop symptoms wear a mask where required to do so, take regular LFD tests and observe good hand hygiene. How are Covid rules changing across UK schools? Since then, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has classified two subvariants, BA.1.1 and BA.2. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has released variant technical briefing 50. The individuals that have tested positive and their contacts are all isolating. One study has suggested that it may be difficult to identify this variant . Other countries that have uploaded more than 100 samples are India (530), Sweden (181), and Singapore (127). UKHSA Chief Medical Advisor, Dr Susan Hopkins said: It is increasingly evident that Omicron is highly infectious and there is emerging laboratory and early clinical evidence to suggest that both vaccine-acquired and naturally acquired immunity against infection is reduced for this variant. As of 17 May, 115 cases of BA.4 and 80 cases of BA.5 have been confirmed in England and the latest UKHSA variant technical briefing has been published today. Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Advisor at UKHSA, said: This latest set of analysis once again demonstrates that a booster dose of the vaccine provides you with significant protection against hospitalisation from Omicron. Vaccination is critical to help us bolster our defences against this new variant please get your first, second, third or booster jab without delay. So far, vaccination means that the rise in cases is not translating to a rise in severe illness and deaths. [92] Reactions [ edit] Vaccine producers [ edit] Any variants showing evidence of spread are rapidly assessed. The updated risk assessment includes indicators for infection severity in both adults and children. UKHSA is constantly monitoring the situation and working to understand the implications for public health. ; BA.5 sometimes gives rise to more marked symptomssometimes with digestive symptoms . We are working as fast as possible to gather more evidence about any impact the new variant may have on severity of disease or vaccine effectiveness. The BA.2 subvariant of the COVID-19 virus is now the dominant coronavirus strain in the world, and while health officials are saying the subvariant acts like the original omicron version of the .
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