0
0
Ba.4.6, the subvarian of the Omicron Covid variant that has quickly received traction in the US, is now confirmed to spread in the UK.
The latest briefing documents on the Covid variant of the British Health Security Agency (UKHSA) noted that during the week starting August 14, BA.4.6 contributed 3.3% of the sample in the UK. Since then it has developed to around 9% of sequential cases.
Likewise, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, BA.4.6 now contributes more than 9% of new cases throughout the US. Variants have also been identified in several other countries around the world.
So what do we know about BA.4.6, and should we worry? Let’s look at the information we have so far.
BA.4.6 is a descendant of the BA.4 variant from Omicron. Ba.4 was first detected in January 2022 in South Africa and since then spread throughout the world with the BA variant.5.
It is not entirely clear how Ba.4.6 has emerged, but maybe it can be a recombinant variant. Recombination occurs when two different variants from SARS-COV-2 (viruses that cause Covid-19) infects the same person, at the same time.
While BA.4.6 will be similar to BA.4 In many ways, it carries mutations to the surge protein, protein on the surface of the virus that allows it to enter our cells. This mutation, R346T, has been seen in other variants and is associated with the avoidance of immunity, which means helping the virus to get out of antibodies obtained from previous vaccinations and infections.
Severity, infectiousness and immune evasion
Fortunately, Omicron infection generally causes less serious diseases, and we have seen less deaths with Omicron compared to the previous variant. We hope this is valid for BA.4.6 too. Indeed, there have been no reports that this variant causes more severe symptoms.
But we also know that Omicron’s subvarian tends to be more transmitted than the previous variant. Ba.4.6 seems better to avoid the immune system than BA.5, the current variant. Although this information is based on precast (studies that have not been reviewed), other data that appears supports this.
According to Briefing Ukhsa, the initial estimate suggested BA.4.6 has a relative fitness advantage of 6.55% compared to BA.5 in the UK. This shows that BA.4.6 replicated faster in the early stages of infection and has a higher growth rate than BA.5.
The relative fitness benefits of BA.4.6 are much smaller than BA.5 more than BA.2, which is 45% to 55%.
The University of Oxford has reported that people who have received three doses of the original Pfizer covid vaccine produces fewer antibodies in responding to BA.4.6 than BA.4 or BA.5. This is worrying because it shows that the covid vaccine may be less effective against BA.4.6.
BA.4.6 capacity to avoid immunity can be aimed at the title by a new booster bivalent, which targets Omicron specifically, in addition to the original SARS-COV-2 strain. Time will answer.
Meanwhile, a preprint study shows that BA.4.6 Avoiding the protection of Evusheld, antibody therapy designed to protect people who are immunocompromised and do not respond well to the covid vaccine.
Vaccination is key
The emergence of BA.4.6 and other new variants of concern. This shows that the virus is still very much with us, and mutate to find new ways to overcome our immune responses from previous vaccination and infections.
We know that people who have had a Covid before can contract the virus again, and this is especially true to Omicron. In some cases, the next episode can be worse.
But vaccination continues to offer good protection against severe diseases, and is still the best weapon that we must fight with Covid. The new approval for the bivalent booster is good news. Beyond this, developing the Coronavirus Multivalent vaccine that targets several variants can provide more durable protection.
A recent study shows that the coronavirus multivalent vaccine given through the nose raises a strong immune response to the original SARS-COV-2 strain, as well as two concerns that are of concern, in the rat model.
Monitoring near a new variant including BA.4.6 pressing, because they can cause the next wave of pandemic covid. For the public, it will pay to stay careful, and comply with any public health actions that apply to prevent what spreads to remain a very contagious virus.
This article is published from a conversation under the Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Average Rating