Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1: Corona cases are increasing once again in India. In the last 24 hours, 2,527 new cases and 33 deaths were recorded.
According to experts, Omicron's new sub-variant (BA.2.12.1) is behind the rapidly spreading infection in the country. While the Ministry of Health has not yet confirmed the detection of BA.2.12.1, slowly scientists are expressing concern about this sub-variant.
All sub-variants of Omicron are on average 12 times more contagious than the original strain of the virus. Simply put, the variant of Corona is Omicron, the sub-variant of Omicron is BA.2 and the sub-variant of BA.2 is BA.2.12.1.
That is, it is also a member of Omicron's family. Recently, the US health agency Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed the presence of Omicron's BA.2.12.1 and BA.2.12 sub-variants in some cities, including New York.
According to the report of Money Control, Indian virologist Shahid Jameel says that at present BA.2.12.1 is spreading rapidly in the North Eastern areas of America. However, it is as contagious as the other variants of BA.2.
All these sub-variants are, on average, 12 times more contagious than the original strain of the virus, Jameel says. While Omicron spreads 10 times faster than the original strain, the BA.2 sub-variants are 20% more infectious than BA.1.
A mutation found in BA.2.12.1 was also found in the delta variant during the second wave. Talking to Money Control, the scientists said that the new sub-variant is highly contagious and is capable of attacking patients who have recovered from the corona.
A mutation named L452Q has also been found in BA.2.12.1, which was found in the delta variant during the second wave. Surprisingly, this mutation was not found in BA.2. Because of this BA.2.12.1 has raised the concern of health experts.
How fast is BA.2.12.1 spreading?
According to the CDC, 19% of new corona cases were registered in the US last week due to the new sub-variant. In the first two weeks, this figure was 11% and 7%.
Here, quoting sources from the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), Money Control said that the reason for the sudden increase in corona cases in Delhi is the BA.2.12.1 sub-variant.
A large number of variants have been confirmed by genome sequencing of samples, but no official statement has been issued so far.
Omicron's BA.2 sub-variant became dominant during the third wave that hit India in January. It was 80% of the cases of corona in the country.
According to scientists, it is necessary to apply a booster dose and use a mask to fight corona. Dr Anurag Agarwal of Ashoka University has tweeted and said that we should not be afraid of the arrival of new sub-variants.
Even if the corona wave comes into the country, it will not be able to overwhelm the healthcare system. Just for our safety, we need to apply a booster dose and use a mask.
At the same time, in a conversation with Dainik Bhaskar, Professor Shalabh of IIT Kanpur, who predicted the fourth wave in the country by June 22 with his statistical method, said, 'It is too early to say that the increase in cases is a sign of the fourth wave.'
It is very difficult to get relief from Corona: even 10% of the population of 56 countries are not vaccinated, and only 2% of people in India got a booster dose.