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2. UKHSA has performed an initial laboratory evaluation of the current lateral flow devices (LFDs) for COVID-19 in current use in the UK. The B.1.1.529variant includes a large number of spike protein mutations as well as mutations in other parts of the viral genome. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has announced the emerging SARS-CoV-2 variant known as B.1.1.529 as a variant under investigation (VUI). Technical Briefing 34 contains further analysis on symptom comparison on Omicron and Delta. If you have any symptoms, take a test. Scratchy throat. Studiesof households and contactshave found that there is a higher risk of transmission to contacts from an Omicron case, when compared to Delta. Omicron BA.2 Variant Severity Analysis from routine contact tracing data indicates that transmission is likely to be higher among contacts of BA.2 cases in households (13.4%) than those for contacts of other Omicron cases(10.3%) in the period 27 December 2021 to 11 January 2022. They also say that Omicron symptoms are typically mild, and herd immunity is at . Whilst Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 are in the early stages of growth in the UK, analysis of the available data suggests that they are likely to have a growth advantage over the currently-dominant Omicron BA.2 variant. Stay at home if you have any respiratory symptoms or a fever and limit contact with others until you are feeling better, particularly if they are likely to be at greater risk if they contract COVID-19. Fatigue. Vaccination remains our best defence against future COVID-19 waves, so it is still as important as ever that people come take up all the doses for which they are eligible as soon as possible. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published its latest COVID-19 variant technical briefing. Dr Chand said: "So far, there is insufficient evidence to determine whether BA.2 causes more severe illness than Omicron BA.1. However, UKHSA scientists say there is no room to be complacent. So, like the original omicron strain (BA.1), the primary symptoms of a mild BA.2 infection are a cough, fever, fatigue and possible loss of taste or smell. Read about our approach to external linking. UKHSA Chief Medical Advisor, Dr Susan Hopkins said: It is increasingly evident that Omicron is highly infectious and there is emerging laboratory and early clinical evidence to suggest that both vaccine-acquired and naturally acquired immunity against infection is reduced for this variant. BA.2 variant symptoms: Spokane Regional Health District Health Officer Francisco Velazquez told KREM 2 News that the BA.2 variant of the omicron variant has some unique symptoms, too. 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. AstraZeneca was the main vaccine used early in the programme in care homes and among those in clinical risk groups. Getty Images BA.2 was. Therefore, although early suggestions are that individuals may be less likely to require hospitalisation, many more people are likely to become infected. The updated risk assessment includes indicators for infection severity in both adults and children. 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. Dr Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at UKHSA, said: Hospitalisations always lag a few weeks behind infections, therefore it isnt surprising that we have started to see people being admitted to hospital with the Omicron variant. The first sequences were submitted from the Philippines, and most samples have been uploaded from Denmark (6,411). When the reduced risk of hospitalisation was combined with vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease, the vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation was estimated as 52% after one dose, 72% 2 to 24 weeks after dose 2, 52% 25+ weeks after dose 2 and 88% 2 weeks after a booster dose. People suffering From the Omicron BA2 variant said they had fever and body Aches. Experts say BA.2 symptoms don't seem to be all that distinct from original Omicron (BA.1) or the immediately preceding Delta variant. Two-thirds with Omicron say they had Covid before. Yet fears of another Omicron wave in the United States may be. 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. Everyone should complete a primary course as soon as possible for most this will be a first and second dose. Data for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is not included in the UKHSA Technical Briefing. 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. It is still too early to determine next steps, so please stay cautious this Christmas and get your booster as soon as possible to protect yourself and your loved ones. The highly transmissible Omicron variant now accounts for half of the world's infections. The newest COVID variant taking the world by storm is Omicron's stealthy sub-variant BA.2, and it seems to have brought on a new barrage of gastrointestinal symptoms with it. UKHSA is updating its variant classification system to give a clearer indication of which variants have significant changes compared to the current dominant variant. However, increases in SGTF can give a useful early indication of variant spread. These include a high temperature, a new. BQ.1 (V-22OCT-01) is a BA.5 sub-lineage which has been designated on the basis of rapid growth. UKHSA is constantly monitoring the situation and working to understand the implications for public health. UKHSAreleases weekly updates on the number of confirmed new cases of variants of concern and variants under investigation identified in the UK. While BA.2 appears to be more transmissible than previous variants, there is no data yet to suggest that it is any more severe. Overall, data shows significant reductions in neutralisation against several of the newly emergent variants (BA.2.75.2, BA.2.3.20 and BJ.1), compared to BA.2, BA.4 and the dominant BA.5. BA.3 shares most of its mutations with BA.1 and BA.2 except for one. Following the change in JCVI advice today, 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. Our advanced sequencing capabilities enable us to find variants and take rapid action to limit onward spread. "The symptoms of the Omicron variant, which includes the BA.2 lineage, and the Delta variant, are similar," says Dr. Erica Johnson, MD, the chair of the Infectious Disease Board of the . While growth rates can be overestimated in early analyses of a new variant, the apparent growth advantage is currently substantial. And in England, more than 1,000 confirmed cases of BA.2 have been identified, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). If you have symptoms take a PCR test and isolate at home until you receive a negative result. There are small numbers of cases in the UK and this designation is intended to allow investigation into the specific properties of this variant. The omicron variant of the coronavirus was first detected in late 2021. This is not an unusual occurrence and several recombinant SARS-CoV-2 variants have been identified over the course of the pandemic. Although hospitalisations and deaths remain low, cases are still high in some areas and some age groups so its important that we continue to act cautiously as restrictions are lifted. Our findings suggest the current wave of Omicron infections is unlikely to lead to a major surge in severe disease in care home populations with high levels of vaccine coverage and/or natural immunity. Neither BQ.1 nor XBB have been designated as variants of concern and UKHSA is monitoring the situation closely, as always. There is currently insufficient evidence to draw conclusions about growth advantage or other properties of this variant. The study also showed evidence to suggest that the BA.2 sub-variant is better able to evade vaccines. The latest UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) COVID-19 variant technical briefing, published today, includes updated epidemiological analysis which indicates that Omicron BA.5 has, as expected, become the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant in the UK. In this analysis, the risk of hospitalisation is lower for Omicron cases with symptomatic or asymptomatic infection after 2 and 3 doses of vaccine, with an 81% (95% confidence interval 77 to 85%) reduction in the risk of hospitalisation after 3 doses compared to unvaccinated Omicron cases. These changes will take effect as of 1 April 2022 and will be reflected in full in future technical briefings. Due to the early nature of the findings, all estimates are subject to significant uncertainty and are subject to change. Whilst the impact of these variants is uncertain, the variant classification system aims to identify potential risk as early as possible. While there is a suggestion that this wanes slightly after 15 weeks, protection in this age group remains high at over 85%. The most common omicron-related symptoms are: Cough. We constantly assess the genetic diversity within the known variants of concern (VOCs) to inform our ongoing public health response to the pandemic. All age groups are affected, including the 75s and over, who are due a spring booster jab to top up protection. It is not unexpected to see new lineages and continued investigation is a normal part of the surveillance of an infectious disease. A BA2 variant's symptoms are similar to those of Omicron. 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. Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said: Todays new data shows how important booster jabs are to protect us against this variant. This is very encouraging. 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). It is vital that everyone over the age of 40 who is eligible for a booster jab comes forward as soon as possible to get increased protection against this new variant. They save lives and prevent serious illness. Vaccination is critical to help us bolster our defences against this new variant so please get your first, second, third or booster jab as soon as you are eligible to protect yourself, your families and your communities. After 2 doses, vaccine effectiveness was 9% and 13% respectively for BA.1 and BA.2, after 25+ weeks. Dr Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Advisor for UKHSA, said: Ongoing variant analysis is an important part of our pandemic response. Dont include personal or financial information like your National Insurance number or credit card details. UKHSA scientists are urging anyone who has not had all the vaccines they are eligible for to make sure that they get them as soon as possible. We use some essential cookies to make this website work. Wear a mask in crowded places, including public transport and shops, to ensure we all help break the chains of transmission and slow the spread of this new variant. 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. By the summer of 2022, the BA.5 variant was the most dominant strain in the US. Our continued genomic surveillance allows us to further investigate variants that are growing within the UK. The BA.2 subvariant has been referred to as stealth Omicron because it contains genetic mutations that can make it harder to distinguish from the .