Category: Omicron
USA: BA.2.12.1 has transmission advantage of ~25% over BA.2 – *1 UPDATE*
CDC: “BA.2.12.1 might have a transmission advantage of about 25% over the BA.2 sub variant… The BA.2.12.1 sub variant makes up nearly 30% of sequences identified nationally.” More...
South Africa: BA.4 and BA.5 increasing as a proportion of sequenced cases *1 UPDATE*
An increasing share of South Africa’s Covid-19 cases are the BA.4 and BA.5 sub-lineages of the Omicron variant, suggesting those might have a growth advantage over others, Prof Helen Rees said on Thursday. More...
Japan: New BA.1/BA.2 recombinant discovered
Japanese researchers have detected a new type of the Omicron variant which is a recombination of the BA.1 and more contagious BA.2 strains of the Omicron. More...
China: 16 cases of Omicron BA.2.3 reported in Yantai, Shandong
16 cases of Omicron BA.2.3, were reported on Monday in Yantai, East China’s Shandong Province, the first time the strain has been detected in the Chinese mainland. More...
France: XD recombinant lacks a competitive advantage over BA.2
France has just published a new risk analysis for SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating in the country. More...
UK: The deadly legacy of Britain’s Covid-19 “Freedom Day” – 2,646 deaths in one week
Nearly one year ago, on July 19th 2021, the UK announced its “Freedom Day” from Covid-19. More...
Spain: Fully boosted healthcare worker reinfected with SARs-CoV-2 after just 20 days
A fully boosted 31-year-old Spanish woman has contracted two different SARS-CoV-2 variants within three weeks. More...
2021: Association between SARs-CoV-2 infection and acute hepatitis in children *1 UPDATE*
May 2021: “Our case suggests an unreported association between acute SARs-CoV-2 infection and acute hepatitis in children, thus supporting the notion that evaluation of liver enzymes during hospitalization for SARs-CoV-2 infection is also indicated in pediatric age. More...
South Korea: XE and XM recombinants may be ‘domestic occurrence’
South Korea’s health authority has detected the XE and XM SARS_CoV-2 recombinant mutations for the first time.
Thailand: Record deaths for the Omicron phase of pandemic
In Thailand, despite a levelling off of daily Covid-19 cases, new fatalities rose to 128, a record during the Omicron phase of the pandemic. More...