Two new omicron coronavirus subvariants are spreading fast in New York as the Easter holiday nears, and state health officials have announced precautionary measures.
Omicron BA.2, the coronavirus variant that has been spreading around the globe since December, has morphed into two new subvariants, BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1. They’re being cited as a leading contributor to rising infections in New York, according to state health officials.
The New York State Department of Health announced Wednesday a statewide emergence of the subvariants and urged “continued vigilance” against COVID-19.
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A look at everything you need to know:
What are the subvariants?
BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1 have sublineages to BA.1, better known as omicron. they’ve been detected in more than 40 other countries and in more than 30 states across the USA.
In central New York, the subvariants have accounted for 70% of new cases in March.
“We are alerting the public to two Omicron subvariants, newly emerging and rapidly spreading in upstate New York, so New Yorkers can act swiftly,” State Health Commissioner Mary T. Bassett said in a statement.
“While these subvariants are new, the tools to combat them are not. … Get fully vaccinated and boosted, test following exposure, symptoms, or travel, consider wearing a mask in public indoor spaces, and consult with your healthcare provider about treatment if you test positive.”
How serious are the subvariants?
Health officials from the CDC said the new viruses do not appear to cause more severe disease than earlier variants.
What’s of most concern is how contagious and rapid the new viruses are spreading, with a growth advantage of 25% over BA.2 by comparison. There is no data to determine whether the growth comes as a result of being more contagious than any other variant or whether it evades the body’s immune defenses better. The spreading is still not at the rate of omicron in the winter but mirrors that of the delta variant wave in the summer and fall.
US remains under a public health emergency
Not only has the CDC and state of New York announced moves to combat the subvariants, but the Biden administration extended the national public health emergency for 90 days as a result. That helps address medical insurance coverage concerns. Also, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has extended a federal transportation mask mandate for two weeks.
The subvariants and omicron as a whole account for 81% of coronavirus cases in New York, according to state health officials. The state Department of Health reminded New Yorkers to do the following:
- Get fully vaccinated and boosted when eligible.
- Consider wearing a mask in public indoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status.
- Test after exposure, symptoms, or travel.
- If you test positive for the virus, stay home and consult with a health care provider.
- Improve air ventilation or gather outdoors to reduce transmission and the risk of severe disease over the Easter and Passover holidays.
In Pennsylvania, mask mandates returned to Philadelphia Monday mid rising cases. National weekly case counts, which dipped below 200,000 at the start of the month, have risen to above 245,000, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins data.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism