SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The BA.2 variant of COVID-19, also known as "Stealth omicron" is now the dominant variant around the world, according to the World Health Organization.
But doctors say it's not the dominant variant here yet.
"Time and time again during the pandemic we've seen that europe gets it first and then we get it after a few weeks," said UCSF Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Peter Chin-Hong.
"Is it more transmissible? The answer is yes," Chin-Hong said. "BA.2 is about 30 to 50 percent depending on the data your looking at, more transmissible."
Santa Clara County Public Health Officer Doctor Sara Cody says they are already tracking BA.2 in their wastewater.
"In the northern parts of our county the wastewater that we follow is this B2 lineage and then it gets less prevalent as you move south. So not a lot in Gilroy but quite a lot in Palo Alto," Cody said.
But Cody says it's not causing issues for the county.
"Interestingly it's not driving up the levels overall. I don't know why, but it isn't. We're watching that very closely," she said.
"It's probably going to effect people who haven't gotten omicron because reinfection is possible, but it's less likely," Chin-Hong said.
Chin-Hong says although there will be a surge of BA.2, it won't bring people's lives to a halt as long as you take advantage of the tools we now have at our disposal.
"Oral agents for early disease or monoclonal antibodies," he said. "Pull out those test and those masks from the closet."
Dr. Chin-Hong says right now, he is more concerned about future, more severe, variants than he is about BA.2.
Via Coronavirus | KRON4 https://www.kron4.com
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