The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the BA.2 sub-variant of omicron has become the dominant version of coronavirus in the world.
According to the weekly report of the WHO, BA.2 is reported in 86% of the new infections registered by the organism, which is why it insists on the constant vigilance of the national health systems to monitor these patterns.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the institution, emphasized that “the COVID-19 pandemic has given us many lessons that we must learn to be better prepared for future epidemics and pandemics.” He also stressed that the pandemic is “not over” yet.
In the last week alone, cases worldwide rose by 7%. Most infections are reported in the Western Pacific and Europe, the agency explained. The WHO also explained that despite the increase in infections, deaths fell by 23%, compared to the previous weekly average.
EE. UU. ya presenta casos
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) already reports the prevalence of the omicron subvariant in the United States.
“The CDC has been keeping a close eye on the BA.2 lineage. […]. The sub variant has remained in the US for the past two months and has been slowly increasing in proportion. This week we estimate that it represents about 35% of the variants that circulate nationally, ”explained Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, at a press conference.
According to data from the federal agency, the new lineage points to a greater transmission capacity, even higher than the one that impacted the country at the end of 2021.
Walensky also explained that “there is no evidence that the BA.2 variant causes more severe disease, nor does it appear to be more likely to evade our immune protection.”
However, he believes that if it is highly transmissible, it could be more dangerous compared to the omicron variant that circulated last winter.
Walensky said they are closely watching the increases in new cases with the highest incidence in the northwest of the country to warn of any saturation of hospital capacity.
* With the collaboration of Lenny Castro, VOA journalist, from San Francisco.
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