![]() ![]() "The big question is whether or not future variants will be more or less severe." "The next variant of concern will be more fit, and what we mean by that is it will be more transmissible because it will have to overtake what is currently circulating," Van Kerkhove said. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's Covid-19 technical lead, warned on Tuesday that the next Covid will variant be more transmissible. However, WHO officials have repeatedly warned that new variants will arise as omicron spreads across the world at an unprecedented rate. The World Health Organization has not labeled BA.2 a separate variant of concern from omicron. A booster dose was 70% effective at preventing symptomatic illness from BA.2 two weeks after receiving the shot, compared with 63% effectiveness for the original omicron strain. However, a preliminary assessment found that BA.2 doesn't appear to reduce the effectiveness of vaccines any more than the original omicron. The sister variant spread faster than the original omicron in all regions of England where there were enough cases to conduct an analysis, according to the agency. Health Security Agency on Friday said BA.2 has a "substantial" growth advantage over the original omicron. Mutations on this part of the spike, known as the receptor binding domain, are often associated with higher transmissibility. The BA.2 variant has five unique mutations on a key part of the spike protein the virus uses to attach to human cells and invade them, Lillebaek told CNBC.
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