Omicron’s BA.4, BA.5 sub-lines can escape immunity, the risk of causing a new wave of Covid-19

The BA.4 and BA.5 sublines of the Omicron variant originated in South Africa reuters

Journal Fortune On May 2.5, experts said that BA.4 and BA.5, two new sub-lines of the variant Omicronis highly contagious and has the potential to escape immunity.

According to new research by Professor Alex Sigal at the Research Institute Health Africa in South AfricaBA.4 and BA.5 can lead to a new wave of infections because of resistance to antibodies caused by Vaccine caused or caused by infection Omicron before. However, the risk of serious illness or death for these people remains low, Sigal added.

However, the rest will not be so lucky. Mr. Sigal said people who have had Covid-19 but not caused by Omicron have poor immunity to BA.4 and BA.5. Infected people covid-19-ky-luc-post1445080.html” title=”Shanghai tests all 25 million people, China has a record number of Covid-19 cases”>Omicron but not vaccinated has a similar level.

Before, Bloomberg April 28 quoted experts Covid-19 South Africa Tulio de Oliveira said BA.4 and BA.5 appear to be more infectious than BA.2, also known as “stealth Omicron”. BA.2 is inherently more infectious than the original Omicron variant.

In the study, expert Sigal and his team said that the possibility of a wave of BA.4/BA.5 infection is very high.

However, Mr. Sigal does not think this will be a big wave because Omicron has infected so many people around the world world. Mr. Sigal also said that this wave will not be too serious, considering the virulence of virusbecause humans already have antibodies from vaccines and previous Omicron infection.

So far, the symptoms caused by the new subtypes appear to be quite similar to those of the Omicron variant, including fever, loss of smell, and malaise.

BA.4 and BA.5 are sublineages originating in South Africa. Last week, Bloomberg report the number of cases Covid-19 in South Africa is skyrocketing, despite the fact that most of the country’s population has been vaccinated or has contracted the virus. South Africa’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases on May 1 reported nearly 4,000 new infections. On May 2, this number decreased to 2,650 cases.

Sublines BA.4 and BA.5 have been detected in several countries in Africa and Europe such as Botswana, South Africa, Germany and Denmark. World Health Organization (WHO) is keeping a close eye on these extra lines.

Fortune April 29, citing many Covid-19 researchers who have access to Gisaid, an international database that tracks changes in the SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus, said new subtypes of Omicron have also appeared in the US. Samples with BA.4 in the US were first collected on March 30, while with BA.5 on March 29.