MOSCOW, February 12. /TASS/. The BA.2 sub-variant of the Omicron strain is more contagious, but not more severe, Deputy Director of the Russian sanitary watchdog’s Central Research Institute of Epidemiology Alexander Gorelov told TASS.
"Indeed, the BA.2 lineage is more contagious than the original variant of Omicron. But it would be incorrect to say that symptoms caused by Omicron BA.2 are more severe than those of the Omicron’s original variant. It is more contagious, but it is not more severe," he said.
The expert attributed the second wave of Omicron, which followed a decline in cases in some countries, to the proliferation of the BA.2 sub-variant.
According to earlier reports, Russia's Central Research Institute of Epidemiology has developed a novel technique to identify three Omicron sub-variants - BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3.
On November 26, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated the B.1.1.529 variant identified in South Africa as a "Variant of Concern" and assigned it the Greek letter omicron. In its statement, the WHO noted that "this variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning." By now, Omicron has been identified in most of the world nations, including Russia, causing an explosive incidence growth.