We all want COVID to be “over” but COVID itself has a different idea; in fact, the Omicron variant just spun off a new variant of it’s own, called BA.2, that may be more transmissible. What does that mean for you and how should you stay safe? Michael Osterholm, Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, appeared on the latest episode of his podcast to sound a warning.
“There is one very, very central point, and yet it seems to be one that for some reason, we have not been able to overcome as an obstacle, and that is getting people vaccinated. You know, I hear people talking all the time now that this is not a pandemic of the unvaccinated and from an infection standpoint, that’s absolutely true. But if you look at it from the standpoint of who had become seriously ill, hospitalized and dies, this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. And it clearly is. And we have to understand that here we are in this country almost two years into the pandemic, a year into the availability of vaccines, yet only 63.8% of the US population that are eligible to receive two doses of vaccine have, only 41.7% have received that third dose that we’ve noted over and over again is so important.”
The new BA.2 variant of Omicron concerns Osterholm, who says it “looks like another 210-mile-an-hour curveball headed our way this time.” It’s more transmissible than the original Omicron, it appears. “In a way we’re almost dealing with a new variant,” he says, “which means we’ve gotta figure out how and why the BA.2 variant is seemingly outcompeting is sibling….I would not be surprised if in the days ahead, we actually rename the Omicron BA.2 as its own distinct variant.”
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