Omicron BA.2, one of the latest identified subvariants of the SARS CoV-2 virus, now accounts for around 90% of cases in the Northeast, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Approximately 90.3% of COVID-19 cases in a region consisting of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont are caused by BA.2. In a region that consists of New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, around 92.5% of COVID-19 cases are caused by BA.2.
Further down the East Coast, BA.2 is responsible for close to 85% of infections in a region that includes Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.
Philadelphia became the first major U.S. city to return its indoor masking mandate this month amid an increase in cases due to BA.2. Some colleges on the East Coast, including American University, Columbia, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins University and George Washington University have also reinstated mask mandates.
According to the World Health Organization, BA.2 appears inherently more transmissible than the omicron BA.1 variant, which was responsible for the omicron surge over the winter holiday season. Both BA.1 and BA.2 are more transmissible than earlier iterations of SARS CoV-2, but they have relatively low potential for causing severe disease compared to the delta variant that caused a case surge last summer, said virologist Andrew Pekosz, PhD, of Johns Hopkins University.
By April 6, the XE variant – a “recombinant” variant mix of omicron BA.1 and BA.2 that first caused a confirmed case in January – had been identified in over 600 patients in the U.K. It has also been found in Thailand, India, Israel and in Japan as of Tuesday, CNBC reported. So far, it does not have a significant presence in the U.S.
Nationwide, the BA.2 variant accounts for around 86% of COVID-19 cases. A weekly COVID-19 review released by the CDC April 8 showed that the seven-day rolling average of cases in the country had increased, though hospitalizations and deaths had decreased.
“The pandemic isn’t over, we’re still going to see cases of this virus spreading. We have to continue to be vigilant, we have to continue to be careful,” said Dr. Aashish K. Jha, newly appointed White House COVID-19 pandemic coordinator, in an interview Tuesday with Good Morning America. “As long as people are vaccinated and booster, we now have a lot of treatments available.”
Regarding a recent outbreak of 72 cases after a dinner party in Washington D.C., Jha said that the good news is that none of those infected has gotten “particularly sick.”
“That’s what we’ve got to be tracking,” he said. “Making sure that when there are outbreaks that we can take care of people and make sure than nobody ends up un the hospital or worse.”
Jha said getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and getting booster shots are the best steps to take to prevent SARS CoV-2 infections, especially for vulnerable populations.
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