Is the Corona wave picking up speed?
Researcher: "Winter seems to be exhausting"
Created: 07/10/2022, 14:42
By: Victoria Krumbeck
After the Delta and Alpha variants came the Omicron variant.
Further BA.5 sublines are spreading and could push the corona wave even further.
Munich/Berlin – The number of corona cases is not only increasing in Munich.
The autumn wave is rolling towards us.
The omicron variant dominates other SARS-CoV-2 variants, as described by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in its weekly report.
Almost 97 percent of people suffering from the coronavirus are infected with the omicron subvariant BA.5.
But some researchers warn of new sublines such as BA.2.75.2 or BQ.1.1.
The genome of the variants is heavily modified, so that antibodies from vaccinated and recovered people against the sublines may not protect.
Coronavirus: New Omicron variants could push the autumn wave even further
The RKI report shows that BA.5 has been the dominant variant for weeks.
However, other sublines are spreading.
New subvariants of omicron could escape the antibodies of vaccinated and recovered people.
According to the RKI, the BA.2.75 subline has been increasing worldwide since June of this year.
In Germany, however, the proportion in a random sample is less than one percent.
This also shows that the virus continues to mutate.
A new variant of the corona virus was also discovered in Austria.
A biotechnical assistant prepares the sequencing of positive PCR tests.
© Julian Stratenschulte/dpa
As the
German Press Agency (dpa)
describes, the British virologist Tom Peacock explained that there is "a previously unknown variety of variants from different branches of the Omicron family tree".
So Peacock was quoted in a "Nature" article.
One thing is striking: the omicron subvariants independently developed the same spike protein mutations.
This protein is a surface protein that allows the virus to attach itself to the receptors on the host cell.
A specialist in virus evolution, Richard Neher from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel, speaks of "a rather gradual development dynamic that is more interesting than the big leaps that the virus made before," as the dpa wrote.
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Corona virus: experts warn of new subvariants
In a tweet, Cornelius Römer, a Neher employee, gave an estimate of another subvariant.
BQ.1.1 is expected to cause a wave in Europe and North America before the end of November.
He justified this by the rapid increase in the sequences within a short time.
Neher told
the
dpa that it would be plausible for him if the current corona wave got a boost in a few weeks.
This can be through the named subline BQ.1.1 or through the mixing of several variants.
This is also the opinion of the Charité vaccine researcher Leif Erik Sander.
On Twitter he warned of the variants BA.2.75 and BQ.1.
These could escape the previous antibodies of vaccinated and recovered people.
"Winter is coming and it seems it's going to be really tough," he tweeted.
Corona virus: Subvariants could promote staff shortages
The fact that the immune response to the subvariants could be weaker does not mean that the course of the disease will become more severe.
The immunologist Christine Falk told the
dpa
, "that the mutations of BQ.1.1 suggested a possibly more effective infection, but not an undermining of all defense lines."
Falk is of the opinion that the protection of the vaccination against severe courses in immune-healthy people should be sufficient.
Provided that the recommended vaccinations have all been taken.
The spike protein provides no evidence that disease burden has changed.
A problem would be the loss of personnel that threatens in the event of a strong wave.
Because if many people get infected at the same time, there will be severe bottlenecks, for example in a hospital in Bavaria.
The World Health Organization (WHO) monitors the subvariants.
The subline BQ.1.1 is also one of a total of 300 subvariants that are considered.
The WHO is optimistic and swears that the variants can be dealt with.
As always, the tools are vaccination, wearing a mask, keeping your distance and ventilation.
(vk/dpa)
