New BA 2.12.1 Covid variant now AVAILABLE in the US – surpasses ‘hidden’ variant –

There is a new dominant strain of COVID-19 in America, with the BA 2.12.1 variant surpassing the “hidden” BA.2 variant, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported in its weekly updates on Tuesday, the tension behind the rise in the number of new possible East Coast cases.

The strain, when Americans were first warned by New York state officials in April, is now making up 58 percent of consecutive COVID-19 cases, up from 49 percent the previous week. Last week’s revised data show that BA.2 made more cases of its latent variant at 49% compared to 48%.

It is most common in the New York and New Jersey areas of the county and accounts for approximately 80% of cases in the area where it was first caught.

BA 2.12.1 is the most contagious version of the virus detected to date and is believed to have a 27% growth advantage over BA.2, of which it is a sub-variant. Omicron is believed to be no more serious than its predecessors.

While the number of daily cases in the USA increased by 13% last week to 108,374 per day, the steady increase in the number of cases that started in late April continues. Since then, deaths have remained steady, with 344 Americans succumbing to the virus each day.

BA 2.12.1 (red) strain predominated on the east coast, but did not have the same effect on the west

According to the latest CDC data published as part of the weekly NOWCAST, BA.2 accounts for 39% of active cases in the United States; this figure increased in the weeks following the insertion of BA 2.12.1 into the genomic sequence. Agency. collapsed.

The “hidden” variant, named for its ability to evade surveillance by less specific sequencing methods, was the dominant strain for about two months after passing the original BA.1 version of the virus and was responsible for the large-scale virus. Winter Covid spikes experienced by most of the world.

BA.1 now represents only a fraction of the percentage of cases that are almost completely extinguished by its subvariables. The Delta variant, which was responsible for the enormous spikes the United States experienced during the summer months, also disappeared.

The dominant BA 2.12.1 variant is more prevalent on the east coast, which is reflected in the region-wide case data.

New York and New Jersey, where it gained the most ground, are among the states with the highest infection rates in America. Garden State records 57 infections per 100,000 residents, ranking fourth in the nation this week, while New York ranks seventh with 49 infections per 100,000 residents.

Despite a growing number of cases in New York, mainly fueled by this new tribe, city leaders have refused to restore powers over the pandemic.

At a news event, the mayor was asked if he would like to follow these orders, and he said “no” on Wednesday. It had also previously revoked the city’s vaccination and mask authorization for enclosed public spaces, introduced in response to the winter wave of Omicron variants.

In New York, health officials raised the city’s Covid alert level to “high” last week, reportedly forcing Mayor Eric Adams to restore authorization for household masks to control the number of cases.

The variant also accounts for 57% of cases in the neighboring Mid-Atlantic region, which includes Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and 52% of cases in the Deep South.

However, the prevalence of variants is declining in the west, as previous versions of the virus took some time to make their way west after erupting on the east coast.

The Midwestern Plains, which includes Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, is the only East Coast region dominated by BA 2.12.1, accounting for 53% of cases.

Despite an increase in the number of cases in nearly all of America last month, deaths remained low, demonstrating the effectiveness of both COVID-19 vaccines and previous infection as many Americans still had natural antibodies afterwards. winter.

Eligibility for enrollments can still be extended. Pfizer announced this week that trials of the three-dose vaccine in children aged six months to five years have shown 80 percent effectiveness in preventing infection from the Omicron variant.

An FDA consultation meeting was planned to follow up on the new report of Pfizer, which developed the project as a joint project with the German company BioNTech.

Unlike previous versions of the injection, the regimen for this age group is available in three doses. The injections are also only three micrograms (mg) in size, one-tenth of the 30 mg injection dose for adults.

The New York City-based pharmaceutical giant had originally planned to give only two doses to the youngest of Americans, but preliminary results late last year showed that the first two doses had little effect on people’s immunity to the virus. four years.