International Health Officials Investigating 'Stealth Omicron'
MIAMI (CBSMiami) — International health officials are now monitoring a new subvariant of Omicron.
The UK Health Security Agency has declared BA.2 a "variant under investigation."
The World Health Organization has reported cases of BA.2 in at least 40 countries, including the United States.
The subvariant, which has been dubbed "stealth Omicron," was reportedly first identified in India and South Africa in late December 2021.
Dr. Vipin M. Vashishtha reports BA.2 "has 28 unique mutations."
Because of the constituent growth across multiple countries, Vashishtha believes "BA.2 may be some degree more transmissible than BA.1."
While Vashishtha said this subvariant may replace BA.1, he believes it's unlikely to cause a second wave of Omicron.
Denmark's Statens Serum Institut noted that "initial analysis shows no differences in hospitalizations for BA.2 compared to BA.1."
