A new omicron version is gaining a foothold in the US --CDC

A new version of omicron is gaining a foothold in the US, CDC finds Another omicron subvariant is gaining traction in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday. YahooNews

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The subvariant, called BA.2.12.1, is an offshoot of the BA.2 version of omicron. While BA.2 remains the dominant variant in the U.S., BA.2.12.1 now accounts for roughly 1 in 5 new cases nationwide.

The majority of cases in the U.S. — around 75% — are still caused by BA.2., which has been the country’s dominant variant since late March.

But BA.2.12.1, along with another version of omicron, called BA.2.12, is said to be responsible for the recent spike in COVID cases seen in upstate New York, the State Department of Health said last week.

State health officials estimated the latest variant to be 23 to 27% more transmissible than BA.2, which itself was more transmissible than the original omicron variant. However, there’s currently no evidence to suggest that BA.2.12.1 causes more severe disease. ...

ALSO SEE: Omicron BA.2 overall makes up more than 90% of COVID variants in U.S. - CDC --Reuters