A COVID-19 test is carried out in Johannesburg, South Africa, on November 28, 2021. Phill Magakoe/AFP via Getty ImagesScientists are closely monitoring BA.2 since it edged out BA.1 in Denmark in recent weeks.For more stories go toAn offshoot of Omicron, BA.2, is spreading over 1.5 times more quickly than the original BA.1, Denmark's leading public health institute said on Wednesday.
"Preliminary calculations indicate that BA.2 is effectively well over one and a half times more contagious than BA.1," the Statens Serum Institute An expert from the SSI told Insider that the variant was spreading fastest among the unvaccinated and among children. There is no evidence that it is causing more severe disease, Danish Health Minister Magnus Heunicke said at a press conference supporting the findings, as Denmark was one of the first countries where Omicron initially spread, meaning its data may give a picture of how other outbreaks could pan out.
BA.2 became dominant in Denmark in the second week of January, but is yet to spread widely across the world. For now, BA.1 is still the subtype of Omicron responsible for 98% of infections worldwide, as per the SSI. The institute said that if its assessments of BA.2's infectiousness are correct, then the current outbreak in Denmark could extend into February, longer than previously expected.
BA.1, children and unvaxxed adult.
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