Good News, WHO Says COVID-19 Vaccine Provides Protection Against Various Variants Of Omicron

Illustration of COVID-19 vaccination. (Wikimedia Commons/Ministry of Defense Photo Gallery)

JAKARTA - The subvariant form of BA.2, which emerged from the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, does not appear to be more severe than the original BA.1 form, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Tuesday.

The COVID-19 vaccine also continues to provide similar protection against various forms of Omicron, said Dr. Boris Pavlin of the WHO's COVID-19 Response Team in an online briefing.

His opinion came when the Omicron BA.2 subvariant began to replace the 'native' Omicron BA.1 subvariance which is more common in countries such as Denmark.

Based on data from Denmark, the first country where BA.2 surpassed BA.1, there appears to be no difference in disease severity, although BA.2 could potentially replace BA.1 globally, Pavlin added.

"Looking at other countries where BA.2 is now overtaking, we don't see a higher-than-expected spike in hospitalizations," he said.

The Omicron BA.2 subvariant is more infectious than the more common BA.1 and better able to infect vaccinated people, according to a Danish study that analyzed coronavirus infections in more than 8,500 Danish households between December and January.

Pavlin said that the sub-variant has become dominant in the Philippines, Nepal, Qatar, India, and Denmark.

"Vaccination is highly protective against severe disease, including for Omicron. BA.2 is rapidly replacing BA.1. The impact is unlikely to be substantial, although more data are needed," he said.