The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has identified 7 further cases of COVID-19 with mutations consistent with B.1.1.529 in England, in addition to the previous 22 confirmed cases of the SARS-CoV-2 variant known as B.1.1.529. Previous updates were published by Public Health England. Of these, 20 were in England, 3 in Scotland and 1 in Wales. BA.2 is found to be able to alarmingly reinfect patients originally infected by Omicron BA.1. There is now high confidence that the Omicron variant causes low severity of disease in adults. As with any other coronavirus (COVID-19) variant, the vast majority do not confer any advantage to the virus and die out relatively quickly. This new mutation dubbed BA.2.75 is concerning scientists because it appears to spread fast, bypassing the protection offered by COVID-19 vaccines and immunity from previous infection, the Associated Press reported Monday. There are simple things you can do in your daily life that will help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections and protect those at highest risk. Further studies are underway in the UK and abroad. I urge you to come forward as soon as youre eligible to help keep yourself and your loved ones safe. Dont include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. It is very likely that we will find more cases over the coming days as we are seeing in other countries globally and as we increase case detection through focussed contact tracing. The Omicron variant sub-lineage known as BA.2 has been designated a variant under investigation ( VUI-22JAN-01) by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Early analyses suggest an increased growth rate compared to BA.1, however, growth rates have a low level of certainty early in the emergence of a variant and further analysis is needed. Currently, approximately half of all tests conducted in the UK are able to detect SGTF. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? Thats why its critical that anyone with COVID-19 symptoms isolates and gets a PCR test immediately. Working from home where possible, consistently wearing masks in crowded or enclosed spaces, washing your hands regularly and isolating and getting tested if you feel unwell are also vitally important in reducing the impact of COVID-19 this winter. Omicron BA.2 lacks the genetic deletion on the spike protein which produces S-gene target failure (SGTF) in some polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, which has been used as a proxy for Omicron cases previously. We now know that BA.2 has an increased growth rate which can be seen in all regions in England. Following the change in JCVI advice earlier this week, a booster dose for everyone over 18 years is now recommended and will be available at a minimum of 3 months from your last primary course jab. This new UKHSA data on Omicron is promising while 2 doses of the vaccine arent enough, we know boosters offer significant protection against the variant and early evidence suggests this strain may be less severe than Delta. Studiesof households and contactshave found that there is a higher risk of transmission to contacts from an Omicron case, when compared to Delta. What are the symptoms of BA.2? Its not too late to catch up if youve missed boosters, or even first doses so please take your recommended vaccines. The new strain has several key mutations, with the most important of those occurring in the spike protein that studs the outside of the virus. A preliminary assessment did not find evidence of a difference in vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease for BA.2 compared to BA.1. Taste Lost is one of the Omicron BA2 Symptoms. Everyone over 18 is now able to walk into a vaccine centre, so do not hesitate to get yours. It contains epidemiological data and updated analysis of COVID-19 variants currently circulating in the UK. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published variant technical briefing 37. Studies of contacts show that Omicron is transmitting more effectively than Delta. However, with the spread of BA.4 and BA.5, that symptom seems to have returned, some doctors note. Omicron BA.4 and Omicron BA.5 were designated as variants of concern on 18 May on the basis of an apparent growth advantage over the previously-dominant Omicron BA.2 variant. News stories, speeches, letters and notices, Reports, analysis and official statistics, Data, Freedom of Information releases and corporate reports. Once again, we urge everyone who is able to get a booster jab to come forward and do so. Continue to exercise caution. This analysis shows you are up to 8 times more likely to end up in hospital as a result of COVID-19 if you are unvaccinated. The individuals who have tested positive and their contacts are all isolating. Where individuals are identified as being a possible or probable case, their close contacts will be contacted and advised to isolate for 10 days and to take a test. It showed that the AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines provided much lower levels of protection against symptomatic infection compared to the protection that they provide against Delta. A further 3 cases have been identified in Scotland, bringing the total to 13. Fatigue. A detrimental change in biological properties (changes in transmissibility, severity or immune evasion) compared to the current dominant variant. We have also learnt that BA.2 has a slightly higher secondary attack rate than BA.1 in households. The individuals who have tested positive and their contacts have been asked to self-isolate. As of 18 July 2022, there were 24 cases of BA.2.75 in the UK. These are some of the symptoms that you should be looking out for: High temperature. UKHSA has also published analyses related to the original Omicron strain BA.1. UKHSA, in partnership with scientific bodies across the globe, is constantly monitoring the status of SARS-CoV-2 variants as they emerge and develop worldwide. Please take up this offer as soon as you are eligible to protect yourself, your families and your communities. Following the first 2 confirmed cases of the SARS-CoV-2 variant known as B.1.1.529 on 27 November, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has identified one further case of COVID-19 with mutations consistent with B.1.1.529 in the UK. There is further data showing that effectiveness against symptomatic disease is significantly lower compared to the Delta variant, and wanes more quickly. Ongoing analysis by UKHSA has found no evidence that infection with Omicron BA.2 results in a greater risk of hospitalisation, compared to Omicron BA.1. Top of the list with a prevalence of 80. It has been designated a "variant under investigation" by British health authorities, meaning they are keeping a close watch on it, but are not overly concerned by it. Of those patients admitted to hospital,17had received a booster vaccine, 74 people had 2 doses and 27 people were not vaccinated. The omicron variant of the coronavirus was first detected in late 2021. This analysis is preliminary and highly uncertain because of the small numbers of Omicron cases currently in hospital, inability to effectively measure all previous infections and the limited spread of Omicron into older age groups. Based on the reports from doctors treating the Covid variant and patients battling. However, increases in SGTF can give a useful early indication of variant spread. This will include analysing live samples of the new variant in our laboratories to investigate properties such as response to current vaccines. The data so far suggests an increase in overall reinfection rates, alongside an increase in first infections. It is the best defence we have against this highly transmissible new variant. "It's important to know and recognize all of the. There is currently insufficient evidence to draw conclusions about growth advantage or other properties of this variant. Previous variants of concern which no longer meet the criteria will be redesignated. The most commonly-reported symptoms with the original Omicron variant were cough, fatigue, headache, congestion, and runny nose. Available data are limited at this early stage, but it remains likely that the cases identified so far are a result of a number of separate introductions into the country. There is evidence that protection against symptomatic disease wanes after the second dose of vaccine, and then improves after the booster. Congestion. If you have any symptoms, take a test. As we learn to live safely with COVID-19, there are actions we can all take to help reduce the risk of catching COVID-19 and passing it on to others. Genomes have now been uploaded from South Africa, Botswana and Hong Kong but the extent of spread is not yet determined. A separate UK study also found higher transmissibility for BA.2 compared to BA.1. A total 637 cases of XE a recombinant of Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 have been confirmed in the UK so far. UKHSA analysis shows that the risk of hospital admission for an identified case with Omicron is reduced compared to a case of Delta. . The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has identified 75 further cases of COVID-19 with mutations consistent with B.1.1.529 in England, in addition to the previous 29 confirmed cases of the SARS-CoV-2 variant known as B.1.1.529. In a lot of ways, it's a bad cold, a lot of respiratory symptoms, stuffy nose, coughing, body aches and fatigue," said Dr. Dennis Cunningham, the system medical director of infection control and. The analysis looked at 581 people with confirmed Omicron. Dr Jenny Harries, Chief Executive ofUKHSA, said: We are continuing our efforts to understand the effect of this variant on transmissibility, severe disease, mortality, antibody response and vaccine efficacy. The latest variant technical briefing suggests that Omicron continues to grow rapidly in all regions of England as measured by confirmed cases and S gene target failure (SGTF). However, it should be noted both that this is early data and more research is required to confirm these findings. We should all continue to test regularly with LFDs and take a PCR test if symptoms develop. Currently there are 18 UK samples in GISAID, out of a global total of 1,086; 639 samples have been uploaded from Singapore, and it is thought that XBB may be a factor in the recent spike in cases there. A runny nose, gastrointestinal. More investigation is required to fully determine the extent of these mutations impact. However, confidence levels for severity indicators for children are low because further analysis is required to compare the risk of hospitalisation between Omicron and Delta, and to assess the clinical nature of illness in children. Protection against hospitalisation from vaccines is good against the Omicron variant. All age groups are affected, including the 75s and over, who are due a spring booster jab to top up protection. Overall numbers of ICU admissions have decreased over time, but where data was available admissions with Omicron have increased from 9% to more than 50% in the most recent week. 2 or Stealth Omicron causes. Well send you a link to a feedback form. The data suggests this risk is significantly reduced following a booster vaccine, so I urge everyone to take up their booster when eligible. Experts in Kolkata say that BA.2 symptoms are mostly associated with abdomen and stomach instead of cough or shortness of breath. SGTF is not a 100% accurate test for Omicron and results are regularly evaluated against sequencing to ensure they are interpreted correctly. Please take up this offer as soon as you are eligible to protect yourself, your families and your communities. The most common omicron-related symptoms are: Cough. Please take up this offer as soon as you are invited to protect yourself, your families and your communities. This is still a very small number of cases but is being investigated carefully to understand whether it is related to travel, any other variant or whether there is evidence of spread of Omicron beginning in the community. The updated risk assessment includes indicators for infection severity in both adults and children. Current guidance from NHS England is that the main symptoms of Covid continue to be a high temperature, a new continuous cough, a loss or change to your sense. Wear a mask in crowded spaces and, when meeting people indoors, open windows and doors to ventilate the room. Work is underway to identify any links to travel. We use some essential cookies to make this website work. UKHSA will continue to monitor the situation closely as a matter of routine, as we do all data relating to SARS-CoV-2 variants both in the UK and internationally. This designation means that data relating to BA.2.75 will now be reported separately from other BA.2 cases. This sub-lineage, which was designated by Pangolin on 6 December 2021, does not have the spike gene deletion at 69-70 that causes S-gene target failure (SGTF), which has previously been used as a proxy to detect cases of Omicron. By the summer of 2022, the BA.5 variant was the most dominant strain in the US. 34 Subsequent studies that were performed in periods when a mix of BA.1, BA.2, BA.4, and BA.5 viruses circulated have reported low effectiveness of a second booster against . ; An increase in new cases is being . BA.2.75.2 as a new variant but singled it out as an . Dr Meera Chand, UKHSA Director of Clinical an Emerging Infection, said: We continue to monitor the emergence of new variants and give them variant designations if they are sufficiently distinct to warrant separate epidemiological and laboratory assessment. 2. Since BA.2 is a sub-strain of the Omicron variant, it is expected that its symptoms will be similar. It is one for the scientists to watch, rather than for the public to be alarmed about at this stage. The risk assessment conducted by UKHSA together with academic partners found that CH.1.1 and XBB.1.5 are currently the variants most likely to take over from BQ.1 as the next dominant variant in the UK, unless further novel variants arise. It is also vital to continue with all the other precautions we have become used to throughout the pandemic keep indoor areas well ventilated, wear a face covering in enclosed spaces, and take a rapid lateral flow (or LFD) test before a situation where you may be at high risk of catching or passing on the virus. Please take up this offer as soon as you are eligible to protect yourself, your families and your communities. As I previously reported, omicron subvariants have a shorter incubation period, which is why the symptoms may appear earlier. So far, there have been 717 V-22OCT-01 sequences uploaded from the UK to the international GISAID database. There are differences in the populations that have received different vaccines. Neither have been designated as variants of concern by UKHSA. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published its latest COVID-19 variant technical briefing. BA.2 continues to demonstrate a substantial growth advantage. Omicron has branched into three lineages, explains Thomas Russo, M.D., professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York: BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3. As with other kinds of variant, most will die off relatively quickly. As of May 2022, BA.2.12.1 was spreading in the US and two new subvariants of Omicron named BA.4 and BA.5, first detected in January 2022, spread in South Africa. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has identified 8 further cases of COVID-19 with mutations consistent with B.1.1.529 in England, in addition to the previous 5 confirmed cases of the SARS-CoV-2 variant known as B.1.1.529. Under the new system, the variant of concern (VOC) label will be assigned to variants which are currently emerging or circulating, and which the following characteristics can be confirmed or predicted: 1. Among those who had received 2 doses of Pfizer or Moderna, effectiveness dropped from around 65 to 70% down to around 10% by 20 weeks after the seconddose. Spector shared a list of symptom prevalence from people who had tested positive for COVID, most of whom were estimated to have caught BA.2, he said. The individual is no longer in the UK, but UKHSA is carrying out targeted testing at locations where the positive case visited when they were likely to have been infectious. There have been recent reports of people who experience symptoms like those of viral meningitis, an inflammation of the brain and spinal cord membranes. The total number of confirmed cases in England is now 5. Technical Briefing 34 contains further analysis on symptom comparison on Omicron and Delta. There is currently no data on the severity of BA.2. Initial data suggests that LFDs are as likely to detect Omicron as other variants including Delta, which has been the dominant variant in the UK from May to December 2021. So far, there is insufficient evidence to determine whether BA.2 causes more severe illness than Omicron BA.1, but data is limited and UKHSA continues to investigate. Here is what we know about it. B.1.1.529 has a large number of mutations in the gene coding for the spike protein, and also in other parts of the viral genome. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is reminding people to ensure their COVID-19 vaccinations are up to date and to continue following COVID-safe behaviours, as latest technical data indicates BA.4 and BA.5 have become dominant in the UK and are driving the recent increase in infections. UKHSAs latest National flu and COVID-19 surveillance report indicates that the increase in COVID-19 case rates and hospitalisations continues to show signs of slowing. These groups have been prioritised for booster doses since the start of the rollout in September to increase their protection. You have accepted additional cookies. Dont worry we wont send you spam or share your email address with anyone. The total number of confirmed cases in England is now 29. UKHSA has performed an initial laboratory evaluation of the current lateral flow devices (LFDs) for COVID-19 in current use in the UK. The World Health Organization has been monitoring SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19) since January 2020, during which time the variant Omicron has been identified, which is technically known as BA.1 or B.1.1.529.The WHO is now monitoring a sub-variant of Omicron, known as BA.2, which has been described as "stealth Omicron," because it has genetic mutations that potentially make it . We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services. Everyone should complete a primary course as soon as possible for most this will be a first and second dose. New sub-lineages within Delta continue to be identified. There is still uncertainty around the significance of the changes to the viral genome, and further analyses will now be undertaken. We constantly assess the genetic diversity within the known variants of concern (VOCs) to inform our ongoing public health response to the pandemic. But it is worth noting that Denmark has seen similar trends in terms of hospital admissions and intensive care as the UK has, suggesting BA.2 does not mark a sea-change in severity. Booster doses also increase the protection against symptomatic and asymptomatic infection which will reduce transmission in the population. Omicron continues to grow faster than Delta, with an increased risk of transmission, particularly in contacts outside of the household. Dr Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Advisor for UKHSA, said: Ongoing variant analysis is an important part of our pandemic response. Get vaccinated and, for those eligible, come forward for your third or booster dose as appropriate as soon as you are called.

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