New omicron subtype BA.2: Immunology comments on the first vaccination data - problems with the PCR test are feared
Created: 01/29/2022, 10:45 am
By: Julia Schöneseiffen
Not much is known about the new omicron subtype BA.2, but experts fear that BA.2 is more contagious than the previously dominant BA.1 sublineage.
But what about vaccination protection?
Munich - First delta, then omicron and now a new omicron subtype.
The new coronavirus sub-variant BA.2 is already spreading in some countries.
According to the Statens Serum Institut (SSI), the BA.2 subtype is responsible for almost every second detected corona case in Denmark.
The new sub-variant, which should possibly be even easier to transfer, is also spreading in Germany.
"Because it can be observed in different countries that the proportion of BA.2 is increasing, it is assumed that BA.2 has an advantage in terms of transferability compared to BA.1," says the Frankfurt virologist Sandra Ciesek when asked by the
dpa
news agency .
In addition to higher transmissibility, a stronger immune escape could also lead to more and more people becoming infected with BA.2, explained Ciesek.
The omicron subtype BA.2 could escape the antibodies of vaccinated and recovered people better and also be more contagious.
Omicron subtype BA.2: First data on vaccination protection
Now there is the first slight all-clear in terms of vaccination protection.
The Secretary General of the German Society for Immunology, Carsten Watzl, writes on Twitter: "First data on the Omicron subline BA.2.
Looks reassuring.
The immunologist is referring to shared data from vaccine researcher Leif Erik Sander.
Sander also shared the data on Twitter.
Accordingly, the "protection against symptomatic infections after the booster vaccination in the sublines BA.1 and BA.2 is comparable according to the first data".
Omicron subtype BA.2: PCR tests probably not reliable
However, there are still many unanswered questions about the omicron subtype.
However, one important problem is known: PCR tests are not always reliable in identifying BA.2, since the subvariant lacks a crucial mutation that is immediately apparent in the PCR test.
PCR tests are not always reliable in identifying BA.2.
© Bernd Weißbrod / dpa
This is how the subtype earned the name "stealth variant".
Genome tests are the better alternative to the PCR test here, but this involves a complex process and thus makes tracking more difficult.
(jsch with dpa material)
