Omicron BA.2 Subvariant Will Soon Dominate the U.S., Experts Say
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- Omicron's highly contagious subvariant, BA.2, is spreading aggressively across the country, doubling its prevalence over the past two weeks in the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted this week that the subvariant now represents more than 34 percent of COVID-19 infections in the country and is on its way to becoming the dominant variant in the country
- Experts say the subvariant probably already represents more than 50 percent of COVID-19 cases in the country as thousands of people are taking at-home tests that aren't picked up in the official data
- Despite the dramatic surge in new cases in the country, leading public health officials say another dramatic surge in new cases is unlikely because of the level of immunity achieved at the population level as a result of widespread vaccinations and previous infections
- This comes as the number of coronavirus cases driven by the subvariant has surged in the UK and many European nations; climbing more than 16 percent over the past week with a 20 percent rise in hospitalizations
- New infections in the U.S. have declined more than 96 percent from the pandemic record of more than 800,000 on Jan. 15, however, the rate of decline has slowed with new cases plateauing at 31,000 daily cases
