A subspecies of the omicron strain, called BA.2, is more contagious but does not cause severe forms of COVID-19. Alexander Gorelov, Deputy Director for Research at the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told TASS about this.
He noted that in some countries the incidence of coronavirus infection has begun to rise again. And this is due precisely to the predominance of subspecies BA.2. Even those who had COVID-19 not so long ago are getting sick again.
“If we used to say that no more than 1 percent get sick again, now it is up to 15 percent,” the expert announced the exact figures. At the same time, the frequency of recurrent diseases does not depend on the strain with which a person was previously infected.
The Rospotrebnadzor reported that with “omicron” pneumonia occurs in 6.5 percent of cases. Most patients (77 percent) have symptoms of SARS. Another 16 percent are asymptomatic.