And Now, here comes COVID-19 version BA.2, BA.4, BA.5,...

"It might be, from a human's perspective, a worse virus than BA.1 and might be able to transmit better and cause worse disease," says Dr. Daniel Rhoads, section head of microbiology at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Rhoads reviewed the study but was not involved in the research.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is keeping close watch on BA.2, said its director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

"There is no evidence that the BA.2 lineage is more severe than the BA.1 lineage. CDC continues to monitor variants that are circulating both domestically and internationally," she said Friday. "We will continue to monitor emerging data on disease severity in humans and findings from papers like this conducted in laboratory settings."

Abstract
Soon after the emergence and global spread of a new severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron lineage, BA.1 (ref), another Omicron lineage, BA.2, has initiated outcompeting BA.1. Statistical analysis shows that the effective reproduction number of BA.2 is 1.4-fold higher than that of BA.1. Neutralisation experiments show that the vaccine-induced humoral immunity fails to function against BA.2 like BA.1, and notably, the antigenicity of BA.2 is different from BA.1. Cell culture experiments show that BA.2 is more replicative in human nasal epithelial cells and more fusogenic than BA.1. Furthermore, infection experiments using hamsters show that BA.2 is more 1,2 pathogenic than BA.1. Our multiscale investigations suggest that the risk of BA.2 for global health is potentially higher than that of BA.1.

The BA.2 sub-lineage of the Omicron variant now makes up nearly a quarter of new COVID-19 infections nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated Tuesday, up from around 1 in 10 new cases just a week prior.

Since January, Omicron has made up virtually all new infections in the U.S. Like in many countries abroad, most cases in the U.S. had been caused by a sub-lineage of Omicron known as BA.1. But while both BA.1 and BA.2 can be traced back to some of the earliest samples gathered of Omicron, BA.2 has only recently begun to climb in prevalence.

BA.2's prevalence is the highest in the Northeast, according to the CDC's "Nowcast" estimates published Tuesday. In the region spanning New York and New Jersey, the agency estimates 39.0% of circulating viruses are BA.2. In New England, prevalence of BA.2 is at 38.6%.

New York state officials this week announced that two new omicron subvariants, dubbed BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1, have become the dominant forms of the Coronavirus in the central part of the state. For weeks, infection rates in central New York have been at least twice the state average, according to data from the state health department.

The new omicron sublineages in New York have picked up mutations that may help the virus enter cells faster and evade vaccine- and infection-boosted immunity, said Andy Pekosz, a virologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

In March, the two subvariants accounted for more than 70% of reported Covid-19 cases in central New York. So far in April, the data show an increase to 90% of all new cases.

The Omicron variant was first confirmed in New York State on December 2, 2021. During the winter Omicron wave that followed, the lineages BA.1 and BA.1.1 were most prevalent, and in February, a rapid growth of BA.2 began.

On April 13, 2022, the Department announced the emergence of two recently-identified Omicron subvariants in New York State, BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1. Both subvariants are sub-lineages of BA.2, and at that time, were estimated to have a 23% – 27% growth advantage above the original BA.2 variant. BA.2.12.1 has been noted to be of higher concern, given additional mutations.

For samples of SARS-CoV-2 collected between March 27, 2022 -- April 9, 2022 from New York that are sequenced and uploaded into GISAID, 100% were the Omicron variant. During this time period 0.8% of Omicron sequences were lineage BA.1, 7.0% were BA.1.1, 57.4% were BA.2, 9.5% were BA.2.12, and 25.4% were BA.2.12.1.

Between April 10 and April 16, 2022 CDC’s program for HHS Region 2 (New York, New Jersey, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico) estimated 100% of samples were the Omicron variant. During this time period 2.1% of Omicron sequences were lineage BA.1, 45.7% were BA.2/BA.2.12 and 52.3% were BA.2.12.1.

Monitoring Omicron BA.2.12.1
For more information on the emergence of BA.2.12.1 in New York State, the graph below presents the percent of sequences in GISAID, with additional patient location information from laboratory databases, classified as BA.2.12.1 in each region over the past three months.

In the Central New York region, which has experienced the most elevated case rates in New York State since March 2022, BA.2.12.1 was first detected in February 2022 and rose to 77% of sequences by April 2022. Furthermore, in April BA.2.12.1 also represented >50% of sequences in the Finger Lakes region, and >25% of sequences in Capital Region, Mohawk Valley, and Southern Tier regions, based on sequences through April 20, 2022.

pinball1970 said:

Total isolation the only real protection?

Reports of new cases were nearly flat in the U.S. at the beginning of April, but as the month draws to a close, they are increasing in all but three states, signaling a wave that is increasingly national in scope.

Hospitalizations are also on the rise nationwide, after plummeting early this month to their lowest point since March 2020. More than 30 states and territories have seen their hospitalization rates tick up in the past two weeks, and in much of the Northeast, the number of people hospitalized with the Coronavirus has increased since mid-month by 40% or more.

“It’s not over yet,” Toner said Friday. “It may be a mistake to relax all of our protective measures too quickly.”

The forecast now predicts that approximately 5,000 deaths will occur over the next two weeks, with Ohio, New York, and New Jersey projected to see the largest totals of daily deaths in the weeks to come.

On average, more than 2,200 virus-positive Americans are entering the hospital each day -- a total that has increased by 20% in the last week, the CDC reports. This also marks the highest number of patients requiring care since mid-March.

Overall, there are about 18,300 patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19 in hospitals across the country, up by 18% in the last two weeks, the Department of Health and Human Services reports.

Astronuc said:

In the past several days, there have been three deaths in the age group 30-39 years, and one death in 20-29 age group, so Omicron is affecting younger people.

Astronuc said:

In New York State, infections are on the rise with BA.2, BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1. The numbers for BA.4 and BA.5 have not been reported yet.

The Coronavirus mutant that is now dominant in the United States is a member of the omicron family but scientists say it spreads faster than its omicron predecessors, is adept at escaping immunity and might possibly cause more serious disease.

A genetic trait that harkens back to the pandemic’s past, known as a “delta mutation,” appears to allow the virus “to escape pre-existing immunity from vaccination and prior infection, especially if you were infected in the omicron wave,” said Dr. Wesley Long, a pathologist at Houston Methodist in Texas. That’s because the original omicron strain that swept the world didn’t have the mutation.

The omicron “subvariant” gaining ground in the U.S. — known as BA.2.12.1 and responsible for 58% of U.S. COVID-19 cases last week — isn’t the only one affected by the delta mutation.

Although most people don’t know for sure which [Omicron] variant caused their illness, the original omicron caused a giant wave of cases late last year and early this year.

Treatments have also hit some snags. The mutations in omicron have rendered several monoclonal antibody treatments ineffective. Some doctors have also reported that Covid-19 symptoms in patients rebounded after completing a course of the antiviral drug Paxlovid.

All the while, another wave of Covid-19 cases is poised to wash over the US as summer heat forces people back indoors, creating more opportunities to spread the virus. Many parts of the country have also lifted face mask requirements and social distancing rules. Covid-19 cases number around 100,000 per day, but the rise of at-home testing means the official tallies are https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-05-20/latest-covid-19-surge-in-u-s-is-drastically-undercounted, if people bother to get tested at all.

'The worst version' of COVID SARS-Cov2 is spreading.​

For anyone who hasn’t been paying attention, the Omicron strain that triggered last winter’s massive COVID wave (BA.1) is now extinct. In March, it was supplanted by the even more transmissible BA.2 … which was supplanted in May by the even more transmissible BA.2.12.1 … which is now being supplanted by the (you guessed it) even more transmissible BA.4 and BA.5.

Experts say BA.5 is the one to worry about: “The worst version of the virus that we’ve seen,” as Dr. Eric Topol, the founder of Scripps Research Translational Institute, recently put it. Together, the closely related BA.4 and BA.5 now account for the majority of new U.S. COVID cases, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — but BA.5 (36.6%) is spreading a lot faster than BA.4 (15.7%). By early July, it will be the dominant strain in the U.S.

A.4 and BA.5 Omicron: How worried should we be?​

Omicron - B.1.1.529, BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2, BA.3, BA.4 and BA.5​

'The worst version' of COVID is spreading. Can we update our vaccines in time?​

For anyone who hasn’t been paying attention, the Omicron strain that triggered last winter’s massive COVID wave (BA.1) is now extinct. In March, it was supplanted by the even more transmissible BA.2 … which was supplanted in May by the even more transmissible BA.2.12.1 … which is now being supplanted by the (you guessed it) even more transmissible BA.4 and BA.5.

Experts say BA.5 is the one to worry about: “The worst version of the virus that we’ve seen,” as Dr. Eric Topol, the founder of Scripps Research Translational Institute, recently put it.

Global COVID cases rise as BA.4 and BA.5 expand​

COVID-19 cases jumped 18% last week and are at their highest levels since April, and the increase comes as the more transmissible Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants cause most infections, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today in its latest update.

BA.4, BA.5 make up 55% of global samples​

Four of the six WHO regions saw rises last week: the Eastern Mediterranean, Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Americas. Globally, deaths stayed level, but were up in the Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asian, and Americas regions.

About 4.1 million cases were reported to the WHO last week, likely an undercount given reduced testing in many countries. The United States, Germany, Brazil, Italy, and China reported the most cases.

Pediatric COVID-19 cases rising for 1st time since May​

As more infectious COVID-19 variants become dominant in the U.S., there are renewed signs that COVID-19 cases may be back on the rise across parts of the country.
The national resurgence comes as the number of children testing positive for the virus also sees an increase again.
New infections among children had been on the decline since May, however, for the first time in nearly two months, there has been an uptick in the weekly total of pediatric COVID-19 cases.

• The daily case average grew to more than 129,000 on Tuesday, and cases are rising in more than 40 states. Since cases have always been an undercount, it is likely that the true number of cases is far higher — particularly since test positivity rates are also increasing sharply nationwide.
• These increases come as the BA.5 variant, believed to be the most transmissable variant yet of the coronavirus, is emerging as the country's dominant virus strain.
• Hospitalizations are also rising in the U.S. That pattern is similar to hospitalization surges seen earlier this summer in countries where BA.5 first began to circulate. More than 37,000 people are in American hospitals with the Coronavirus on an average day, an increase of 17 percent since the start of the month.

Deaths from the virus reached 151 in the seven days to July 16, compared with 115 in the worst week of the previous wave, in March, according to Health Ministry data. In the latest 24 hours, 26 people died from COVID, all aged over 60, the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

The Omicron BA.5 sub-variant is driving the current wave in New Zealand, which has 5.1 million people. There have been 64,780 active cases in the past seven days, although authorities say many infections are unreported.

Laroxe said:

I hope things are OK, but it shows that Covid continues to be a real issue. It's worth remembering that a full recovery can take some weeks, so hopefully these issues should resolve.

I thought people might be interested in some of the latest developments and ideas, though you need Medscape membership (free) to access the article.

https://www.medscape.co.uk/viewarticle/what-s-next-covid-pharma-pipeline-2022a100210y