Posted on 01/21/2022 5:57:41 PM PST by Trillian
The U.K. Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) announced Friday it is investigating a sub-lineage of the omicron coronavirus variant—known as BA.2 and nicknamed by some scientists as “stealth omicron”—that appears to be outpacing other forms of the variant around the world and is raising fears of an even more transmissible strain of the virus.
KEY FACTS In a statement Friday, the UKHSA said it has designated BA.2 a “variant under investigation,” the agency told Forbes, confirming news reports and a since-deleted tweet from the agency.
Just 53 samples of BA.2 have been identified in the U.K. by January 10, it said, stressing the numbers were currently very low.
Some scientists have dubbed the sub-lineage “stealth omicron” as its genetic makeup could make it harder to spot using PCR tests.
While cases are low in the U.K., BA.2 accounts for nearly half (45%) of Danish Covid-19 cases, according to Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut (SSI), part of its ministry of health, a jump from just 20% in the last week of 2021.
Early analyses show no differences in hospitalizations compared to BA.1, the dominant omicron form, the SSI said, and added work was still underway to see if BA.2 was more infectious or affected vaccine efficacy.
Reports indicate BA.2 is also spreading in parts of France, India and Norway.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR A new variant. While currently grouped under omicron, the genetic difference between BA.1 and BA.2 “is greater than the difference between the original variant and the alpha variant,” the SSI said. Such differences could lead to a distinction in behavior like severity or infectiousness, the SSI noted, but said more work needed to be done to find out. “It is expected that vaccines also have an effect against severe illness upon BA.2 infection,” it added.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
OMG WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE, AAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stealth. That’s good, right? 🤣
That’s quite the trick that the vaccines will work against the stealth omicron but not omicron-1.
No - stealthy is bad.
“So how was my checkup doc?”
“All the tests are negative, your vitals are good, your weight is good - so you probably have covid.”
EVERYBODY PANIC!!!
SERPENTINE!!!
so now we have to worry about stealth variants, in addition to the regular variants?
Next comes “Double Secret” Omicron.
Probably won’t all die, for now. But yesterday the US had more explicit Covid deaths than any day since February.
Today’s count is shaping up to be substantially higher than last Friday.
Death counts are not declining. These announcements of reducing restrictions is not because it’s all over. It’s because the spread is so extensive that there is no stopping it. The count yesterday was 3142 dead, but they were mostly old folks so no need to care.
Which is why we need to keep a close watch on it.
Phantom Menace Omacron
Double secret Covid.
And it’s probably nothing that hasn’t happened thousands of times before in our history but nobody knew it because nobody was looking for it.
Woohoo!!!
I said: “Doc, I want a second opinion!
He said: “Okay, you’re ugly too!”
maybe they released the variants in the wrong order?
All you need to know about the new Covid variant. Make sure you purchase black clothing to match the mask. It can double as funeral attire. Grimm Milestone reporting.
“It’s because the spread is so extensive that there is no stopping it.”
step 1 stop getting jabs.
step 2 use the simple existing therapeutic, vitamins other therapeutics instead of new supposed to work great jabs, pills, chemicals - which the makers know wont work, but will make them happily richer and help cut some population to boot!
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