The spread of Covid seems to have slowed the pace. The case curve is decreasing around the world. From South Korea to Germany, governments are preparing for the phasing out of restrictions.
However, there is a new variant of the virus, a sub-variant of Omicron called BA.2 or even Omicron 2, which worries the health authorities. The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a new report showing that this strain represents 21.5% of all new cases analyzed in the world in the first week of February.
To date, Omicron infections represent almost all new Covid cases (98.3%), but it is still not clear what the effects of the spread of the sub-variant may be. From what we read in the New York Times, there is still caution: “The drop in tests around the world means that the global case numbers may not reflect the true spread of the virus.”
For the WHO, Omicron 2 appears to be steadily increasing and is dominant in China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines. Denmark was the first country to report that Omicron 2 had surpassed BA.1, the version of Omicron that first swept the world.
Here is a map of the trend of the sub-variant, which in recent weeks has been flanked by yet another “changed” version (BA.2_H78Y), which is growing rapidly. The graph was published in a report by the Danish research institute Statens Serum Institut. The good news: researchers say there is currently no evidence that Omicron 2 with its mutations is more lethal than Omicron 1, even if the sub-variants it could slow the decline of infections.
Another reassuring fact is that the vaccines available so far are effective against the new variant, in the same way as they are against “original” Omicron. This was stated by Marco Cavaleri, responsible for vaccines of the European Medicines Agency (Ema), who underlined how vaccines remain “the cornerstone” of the European strategy against the virus, and how boosters have a significant role in reducing severe symptoms: ” third dose offers a high level of protection from severe illness and hospitalization ”.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, he explained that, although the pandemic is not over yet, “with our feet on the ground we look to a different future. There is no doubt that we are in a new phase: the very high rate of vaccinations in our country together with a variant that has turned out to be different with less capacity to hospitalize despite being very contagious, gives us an objectively new picture that allows us, albeit with caution, to look forward to the next few months with confidence “.
In South Korea, the government has decided to ease the evening curfew imposed on catering activities, despite the country’s record of new infection records for days. Also in Switzerland most of the anti-Covid measures will be revoked (stop to masks and green passes in shops and restaurants) and in Belgium and Luxembourg discos and clubs will reopen.
Germany, a little more cautious, will follow a three-phase program, but on 20 March all more stringent protective measures ”will be canceled, according to Chancellor Olaf Scholz .
