Explainer: Omicron ‘stealth’ COVID variant BA.2 now dominant globally
JENNIFER RIGBY and JULIE STEENHUYSEN A sub-variant of the highly transmissible Omicron version of coronavirus known as BA.2 is now dominant worldwide, prompting surges in many countries in Europe and Asia and raising concern over the potential for a new wave in the United States. Below is a summary of what is known about BA.2. MORE TRANSMISSIBLE BA.2 now represents nearly 86% of all sequenced cases, according to the World Health Organization. It is even more transmissible than its highly contagious Omicron siblings, BA.1 and BA.1.1, however, the evidence so far suggests that it is no more likely to cause…