What is known about Covid-19's Omicron BA.2 sub-variant

The BA.2 sub-variant accounts for about 90 per cent of daily cases. PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - Singapore is currently seeing a Covid-19 Omicron wave largely driven by the BA.2 sub-variant, which accounts for about 90 per cent of daily cases as at Friday (March 11), said the Covid-19 multi-ministry task force at a virtual press conference on Friday.

Here are some facts about the BA.2 variant.

1. What is it?

The Omicron variant generally comes in three genetically distinct varieties, with BA.1 and BA.2 the most predominant. The BA.1 sub-variant was the first that broke out and BA.2 took longer to become significant.

2. Transmissibility

Preliminary studies suggest that BA.2 is more transmissible than BA.1, even though all the Omicron variants are highly contagious. It has already become the dominant form of Omicron in a few countries and is gaining ground in others.

3. Severity of illness

The chances of becoming severely ill, hospitalised or dying are significantly lower with the Omicron variant than the Delta or earlier variants. So far, research indicates that BA.2 is no different from BA.1 in this aspect.

4. Vaccine effectiveness

BA.2 does not seem to change what is currently known about the Omicron variant. Generally, it is known that Omicron is somewhat better than other variants at causing breakthrough infections of vaccinated people, but the vaccines still provide substantial protection against infection.

Booster shots make the protection even more robust.

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