PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Health officials are keeping a close eye on the omicron subvariant that is behind a COVID-19 surge in parts of Europe and Asia. While cases have dropped dramatically in the United States following the country’s own omicron surge, experts warn the more transmissible subvariant could lead to a similar jump in the U.S. in the coming weeks.
The subvariant, named BA.2, is 30% more transmissible but does not appear to be deadlier than the original version of omicron, health officials say. It currently accounts for nearly a quarter of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S., according to the latest estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is up from the previous week when the CDC said BA.2 was linked to a tenth of new cases.
“It should have our attention,” said Dr. John Wherry, director of the Institute for Immunology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. “We should all be humble in front of this virus. We’ve been surprised over and over again. We should no longer be surprised about being surprised.”
During the pandemic, the U.S. has typically followed spikes in Europe with a similar rise in cases about two to four weeks later, Wherry noted. Currently, the United Kingdom has seen a 52% increase in cases and an 18% increase in hospitalizations.
Germany reported a new daily record on Wednesday, with nearly 295,000 new cases. Asian countries are also seeing dramatic increases. South Korean health officials reported its deadliest day of the pandemic, with 429 deaths and a new daily record of more than 621,000 cases.
“The virus will pick up pockets of susceptibility and will survive in those pockets for months and months until another pocket of susceptibility opens up. That’s how viruses work,” said Dr. Mike Ryan, the World Health Organization’s executive director of the Health Emergencies Programme.
If the U.S. sees numbers rise in the coming weeks, Wherry said there will likely be more targeted responses based on local levels of transmission.
“It’s unlikely that we need national reintroduction of mitigation measures, but we should have local awareness of what’s happening in our communities and how to actually reintroduce masks or other measures,” he said.
Health officials say the subvariant is yet another reminder that the pandemic is not over yet.
“The transmission of this disease will occur. It will wax and it will wane,” Ryan said. “It has not settled down into a purely seasonal and predictable pattern yet.”
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