Should New Yorkers Be Worried About BA.2?
There has been news of a new COVID strain called BA.2. Many people are concerned about a possible 5th wave of COVID as infection numbers are on the rise. Currently, the COVID positivity rate in NYC is 3%. There are 1,500 new COVID cases every day in NYC. That is double what the rates were last month. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is estimating that approximately 84% of cases in the New York region are BA.2 and that BA.2 is now the most prevalent strain in the United States. Some people are concerned about these numbers, especially since NYC recently removed many mask and vaccine mandates.
Although COVID numbers are increasing, health experts are not alarmed. BA.2 is causing a slow and steady increase in infection cases but hospitalizations and deaths remain low. NYC officials are also not concerned but may be considering increasing the number of testing sites and giving out more free at-home test kits in the future if it is deemed necessary.
Even with this reassuring news and data, some NYC residents are still concerned about BA.2. Some teachers have noticed an increase in student absences recently and think that it could be related to BA.2 and because the mask mandate in schools was lifted.
As of right now, most of the new infections have been in people under 35 years old, who are less likely to be hospitalized. If it spreads to the older population or nursing homes, it could cause negative effects on those populations. Health experts believe that the reason for fewer infections and hospitalizations is because more people have gotten booster shots, there are more antiviral pills available, and many people who had omicron likely have strong immunity to BA.2.
Another consideration is that recording accurate COVID numbers has become more difficult because more people are using home test kits. The issue with this is that these are not reported and included in the city’s official numbers. The rate of BA.2 cases could be higher than we know because home test kits have become more popular.
Of course, health experts believe that even though BA.2 causes fewer hospitalizations, people should still be cautious about limiting transmission rates. Long COVID is a concern for many people. If you or a family member are immunocompromised, you should still practice caution in public places by wearing masks, hand hygiene, and social distancing. Recently the CDC, came out with recommendations that people who are over 50 years old and immunocompromised should receive a 2nd booster shot 4 months after their 1st booster shot.
In summary, the new COVID strain BA.2 is being monitored but health officials are not talking about inducing a lockdown anytime soon. Although daily COVID case numbers have increased, COVID hospitalizations and deaths are declining. BA.2 has shown to be more transmissible than omicron but seems to have milder symptoms similar to the common cold. If you or a loved one are immunocompromised or have other concerns about contracting COVID, please get vaccinated, continue to wear masks, perform hand hygiene often, and practice social distancing.
References
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/07/nyregion/omicron-variant-ba2.html
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