A new spinoff of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is getting attention from scientists as it becomes the dominant cause of Covid-19 infections in some parts of the world. Experts say there's no reason to panic over the lineage, called BA.2.
A new spinoff of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is getting attention from scientists as it becomes the dominant cause of Covid-19 infections in some parts of the world.
Experts say there's no reason to panic over the lineage, called BA.2, which was first detected mid-November and has since spread to 49 countries including the United States. "Among all the lineages of Omicron, this is the one showing a higher increase of cases.
Long says it's hard to know why BA.2 is gaining ground in certain countries. It could be that it has some kind of advantage over the original Omicron variant, or perhaps both BA.1 and BA.2 were introduced around the same time, so they were able to spread at about the same rate.But he says scientists will be watching those countries closely to see how the situation plays out over the next few weeks.
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