Scientists Say, New Omicron Variant Should Not Be A Matter Of Worry

The coronavirus outbreak has changed people’s lives completely and turned the world upside down. The covid-19 virus is responsible for lakhs of deaths across the globe. It can mutate into various forms and variants and can cause mild or serious illness.

Scientists Say, New Omicron Variant Should Not Be A Matter Of Worry

The World Health Organization (WHO) and health regulators are inspecting and monitoring the spread of the virus and other related issues to ensure maximum protection of public health. It is a highly contagious disease that can quickly spread from one person to another.

Any contagious virus has the properties to adapt and mutate according to the environment it resides in. This virus has also changed its properties and forms into variants that can spread faster. People are getting infected by the variants in spite of getting vaccinated.

The Omicron variant is currently the highest transmissible variant across the world. Since viruses can mutate, they can split into lineages and sub-lineages. One such sub-lineage of Omicron is named BA.2. This variant is responsible for the highest number of infections around the world.

The BA.2 has become a dominant variant as compared to the previous ones. Denmark’s Statens Serum Institute (SSI) has concluded that the cases related to BA.2 variant have increased rapidly over the past month. Statistics show that this sub-lineage variant of omicron has increased the number of cases in countries like the Philippines, England, Germany, etc.

A study shows that BA.2 is more contagious when compared to BA. However, those vaccinated are likely to get mild symptoms and not fall seriously ill. There is currently not much information about the effectiveness of the covid vaccine against the variants and its sub-lineage.

Although this sub-lineage is highly transmissible, data suggests that this variant does not cause any severe illness. The growth rate of the virus is increasing by the day in certain countries.

A study by UKSHA suggests that there is no significant difference in the effectiveness of the covid vaccine against this variant. However, there is no exact data that suggests the severity of it.

The covid tests continue to identify the infection as an omicron variant. The WHO and other scientific researchers continue to closely study and monitor the virus to understand its properties better. Countries are urged to contribute any new information or data that they collect about the virus and the people getting infected by it.

“There is no need to panic “, say the experts about the new lineage. Even though the BA.2 is not severely harmful, the public has to be safe and careful. Different researchers have given different names for the lineage and sub-lineages.

Most of the infections are caused by the BA.1 family in the U.S, however, the sub-lineage of the BA.1 family is spreading notably in India and Denmark.

Scientists say they are not surprised by the discovery of the new variant. It was anticipated and obvious that there could be a rise in cases of covid-19 and new variants can be found as half of the world’s population is still not vaccinated. 

It must be noted that this should not be taken lightly, the general public must continue to follow all precautionary measures for the safety of their health. Countries should urge the public to get vaccinated against covid-19, follow all the necessary instructions, and establish more medical capacities to help the increase in cases. The WHO is ready to provide all the support needed to countries and guide them to be responsive and ready for any crisis.