Omicron BA.2 Variant to Become Dominant in the U.S.

The CDC is predicting that the BA.2 variant of Covid-19 – also called the stealth variant – will become dominant in the United States soon. The latest data shows that the variant, which is related to the varieties of Covid-19 that became known as Omicron (BA.1.1), was responsible for around 35 percent of cases in the country as of March 19, up from around 23 percent a week earlier. The data also shows that the original Omicron variant surged from less than 10 percent of cases to three quarters of cases within two weeks in December of 2021.

As BA.2 is suspected to be even more transmissible than BA.1.1, some expect an increase in Covid-19 cases in relation to the development. As of the latest available data, the BA.2 variant already made up almost 40 percent of cases in the country’s Northeast. As the U.S. has been recovering from the initial Omicron wave, case numbers had decreased quickly over the last couple of weeks before stagnating on a lower level. According to The New York Times, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and parts of upstate New York were currently seeing more Covid cases than the country on average.

The strain’s subvariety status made it harder to detect initially, earning it the stealth nickname. Around the world, the variety is already not operating in a low-key fashion anymore, also becoming more dominant in Europe and other countries. It is not clear, however, if BA.2 is to blame for infection numbers that have been rising again in European countries and – in an outbreak not seen since the initial coronavirus wave – in Hong Kong and China.