More and more people infected with omicron subtype BA.2 - expert with clear autumn prognosis
Created: 03/31/2022, 11:21 am
By: Magdalena von Zumbusch
A corona study shows: The omicron subtype BA.2 has different virological properties than the original type.
(Iconic photo) © La Nacion/Imago
The current corona wave is still sweeping Germany, more than 200,000 people are infected every day.
For whom would a fourth vaccination now make sense?
Berlin – The corona pandemic in Germany has been picking up speed again for weeks.
This is partly due to the BA.2 variant of the omicron mutation.
This new mutation appears to be even more contagious than the original omicron version and thus also more contagious than the original coronavirus.
Immunologist Timo Ulrichs now explains when the fourth corona vaccination will be necessary and whether it can help against BA.2 just as effectively.
Corona loosening in Germany: High risk of infection from Omikron particularly threatening
Due to the current easing, the BA.2 variant of the corona virus has a very high potential for spreading.
How well do vaccinations protect us against this subtype?
The epidemiologist Timo Ulrichs from the Akkon University in Berlin explains what we currently know about this in an interview with ntv: “It is still an immune escape variant.
This means that the immunity that is built up there is no longer good for protection against infection, but it is good for protection against disease.
And that's the main thing."
BA.2 variant of the omicron mutation now dominant: Therefore more severe courses again
In an interview with Die
Welt
, Ulrichs reports on the often more severe course of subtype BA.2.
These are "another good reason to complete the immune protection," he says, and of course "for those who don't have a vaccination yet, to get one as soon as possible".
Ulrichs believes that it cannot be ruled out that with the next severe wave, which he expects to hit Germany by autumn 2022 at the latest, "even more severe clinical courses of the new omicron subtype will develop".
Video: Future corona vaccination strategies
Corona in Germany: Who should get a fourth vaccination?
At least for vulnerable groups, Ulrichs therefore considers a fourth vaccination to be important, he explains in an interview with Die
Welt
.
On the one hand, an early fourth vaccination with the currently available vaccines makes sense.
However, one could protect oneself even more specifically against the new omicron variants of the coronavirus with an omicron-specific vaccine.
He therefore hopes that these vaccines will now come onto the market as quickly as possible.
The first deliveries of the omikron-specific vaccines for the market are expected from the end of March/beginning of April.
