Parents are on high alert once again, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting on Tuesday, April 19, that another omicron subvariant is gaining traction in the United States.
The subvariant in question is called BA.2.12.1, and it is an offshoot of the BA.2 version of omicron that continues to wreak havoc across the U.S. While the BA.2 version remains the dominant variant in the United States, BA.2.12.1 is slowly grabbing a foothold, accounting for roughly 1 in 5 new COVID cases nationwide.
Reuters reported that the majority of cases in the U.S. is still caused by the BA.2. variant that has been the dominant one in the country since late March. Around 75 percent of the cases at this time are the result of BA.2 infections.
BA.2.12.1 and BA.2.12 subvariants responsible for spike in cases
The State Department of Health announced last week that newer versions of omicron are emerging and that BA.2.12.1 and BA.2.12 are said to be responsible for the recent spike in COVID cases witnessed in upstate New York.
New data from the CDC showed BA.2.12.1 caused 19 percent of new COVID-19 infections in the United States last week, up from an estimated 11 percent of cases the week before and 7 percent the week before that, according to a report by CNN.
State health officials made a stark warning, estimating that the latest variant is 23 to 27 percent more transmissible than BA.2. That is concerning considering that the BA.2 version itself was more transmissible than the original omicron variant of COVID-19. There is currently no evidence to suggest that the BA.2.12.1 subvariant causes a more severe disease.
Trevor Bedford, an epidemiologist and genomic scientist at the University of Washington's School of Public Health, said that the speed at which BA.2.12.1 is outpacing the BA.2 variant is roughly as fast as BA.2 outcompeted its cousin BA.1.
Federal and state officials have been watching the COVID outbreak closely in New York to see if it leads to an increase in hospitalizations, which tend to lag coronavirus cases by several weeks.
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Scientists expect to see continued increases in COVID cases
John Moore, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College in Manhattan, told NBC News that scientists should expect to see continued increases in the transmissibility of the coronavirus as it continues to mutate.
Moore explained the continuing mutations, saying that is what the selection pressure on the virus is. What would be more concerning for Moore is if the new subvariant is discovered to be more lethal, particularly to those who have been vaccinated already or have gotten protection or immunity from prior COVID infection.
Moore said that scientists still don't know at this time if BA.2.12.1 is more lethal, but the original omicron variant was found to be milder than previous COVID-19 variants.
