What distinguishes the covid-19 BA.2 subvariant from the omicron?
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(CNN Spanish) --
The Puerto Rico Department of Health reported this Friday the detection on the island of a positive case of the BA.2 subvariant of the omicron variant of covid-19.
The government agency confirmed that the BA.2 subvariant is the third omicron detected in Puerto Rico.
Previously, the government had identified the subvariants BA.1 and BA.1.1.
In a statement, the Department of Health indicated that the detected case corresponds to a woman between 20 and 29 years old, a resident of the Bayamón region and vaccinated with the complete series of the covid-19 vaccine.
The woman has no travel history and is displaying symptoms of fever, cough, loss of taste and smell, nasal congestion, headache, and muscle pain, and she has not required hospitalization.
The sample was taken on February 10.
According to the brief, the BA.2 subvariant is currently found in 83 countries and in all 50 US states.
The World Health Organization said a few days ago in a press release that the BA.2 subvariant should not be reclassified as a separate coronavirus variant named after Greek letters, but should remain part of omicron and be monitored as a variant. of concern.
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“There is no need to be alarmed, we continue to be vigilant and promote protection against covid-19.
Preliminary data suggest that the omicron subvariant is slightly more contagious.
The good news is that the vaccine is still effective in preventing serious cases,” said Carlos Mellado, Secretary of Health of Puerto Rico.
In December 2021, the Department of Health confirmed the first positive case in Puerto Rico of the omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in a person who returned from a trip to Florida.