New and Improved; Omicron Sub-Subvariants

By Matis Glenn

Omicron might be old news, but the subversive subvariant BA.2 might soon be joining its predecessor in the annals of seemingly ancient COVID history. While roughly 3/4 of U.S. cases are still being attributed to the ‘traditional’ BA.2, its progeny, dubbed BA.2.12.1 is quickly gaining ground. “BA.2.12.1 has increased rapidly in proportion in the US compared to other BA.2 sublineages,” especially in the region that includes New York and New Jersey, CDC spokesperson Kristen Nordlund told CNN. While only deemed significant by the CDC three weeks ago, the grandchild of Omicron now accounts for 19% of all new cases specifically sequenced for variants in the country, according to data released on April 19th by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Much like its family of pathogens, there is no indication that BA.2.12.1 poses any increased risk of severe infection, hospitalization, or death. But that’s not to say it doesn’t have a few tricks up its sleeve. According to the New York State Department of Public Health, the sublineage is believed to be 23-27% more catchy than BA.2, which itself was 30% more contagious than Grandpa Omicron.

BA.2.12.1 isn’t the only subvariant of concern, however, as yet another version – BA.2.12 – is just as transmissible, yet is being outpaced by BA.2.12.1 in New York, and its case data is being folded in with BA.2, according to NYS Department of Health data.

By a slim margin of 52%, BA.2.12.1 accounts for the majority of cases in the Tri-State area as a whole, according to data released by the CDC.

In southwest states, including California, Nevada and Arizona, the new data from that agency indicates that BA.2.12.1 is responsible for about 9% of new cases.

CNN reports that officials are concerned about the BA.2 offshoots because they have swapped pieces of their spike proteins – the key part of the virus that attaches itself to the body – at important locations called L452Q and S704L. When the Delta variant took center stage in 2021, changes in those points were documented as well. Those changes were said to enable the virus to more easily attach itself to the ACE2 receptors in human cells.

“And those mutations are allowing the virus to enter cells faster and also contributing to evading antibody responses that are generated from vaccination or infection,” said Andy Pekosz of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Dr. Daniel Griffin, a physician and researcher at Columbia University Medical Center, said “The vast majority of people in New York have either been vaccinated or infected or both. And so what we’re seeing is reinfections. We’re seeing this immune evasiveness,”

According to Dr. Griffin, people who are vaccinated or previously infected, the chances of hospitalization are cut by 90%. Testing and receiving early treatments, such as monoclonal antibodies or Paxlovid reduces that rate by another 90%.

“If we do everything right from here on out, we should not see a lot of people end up in the hospital,” Griffin said.