Topline
The extremely transmissible BA.2 Omicron variant comprised greater than half of COVID-19 infections final week, the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention stated on Tuesday, as specialists say they consider a brand new wave of coronavirus circumstances within the U.S. is unlikely.
A well being care employee holds a vial of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination well being middle
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Key Info
BA.2 circumstances made up nearly 55 p.c of infections for the week ending on March 26, in response to new weekly data launched by the CDC on Tuesday.
That’s up from the 39 p.c of circumstances the BA.2 variant accounted for throughout the week ending in March 19.
The variant has additionally turn into the dominant COVID-19 pressure worldwide.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the Nationwide Institute of Allergy and Infectious Ailments, advised The Washington Post final week that until “one thing modifications dramatically,” the U.S. is unlikely to see a “main surge.”
Every day coronavirus infections are on the rise in some states, with general circumstances throughout the U.S. plateauing.
Key Background
Scientists first found the brand new model of Omicron in November. Since then, circumstances of BA.2 have spiked within the U.S. and world wide, with some international locations in Europe and Asia seeing a surge in circumstances. Consultants say proof up to now suggests the BA.2 model could also be extra transmissible than different Omicron variants however is just not extra more likely to trigger extreme illness. Some scientists have nicknamed BA.2 “stealth omicron” due to a mutation that makes the variant tougher to tell apart from delta variants on PCR assessments.
Additional Studying
Omicron: What We Know About the Dominant Coronavirus Variant (The New York Occasions)
As BA.2 grows in the US, experts look to other countries to predict its impact here (CNN)
U.S. Covid Instances Plateau After Months Of Declines—And Rise In Some States (Forbes)
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