Epidemiologist: Omicron BA2.75.2 Subvariant Potentially Extends Pandemic

JAKARTA - Epidemiologist from Griffith University, Australia Dicky Budiman said the Omicron BA2.75.2 subvariant has the potential to extend the duration of wave 4 of the COVID-19 pandemic due to its ability to evade vaccine immunity.

"Currently, the world's attention is the Omicron BA2.75.2 Subvariant with growth, the case in India is faster, it also seems to reduce the efficacy of immunity when vaccinated", said Dicky Budiman, quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, September 14.

He said the new subvariance emerged amid the dominance of BA.4 and BA.5 cases that have infected the community, including those who have been vaccinated, even booster or booster doses.

"In India and developed countries, it is the same as in Indonesia, which means that people who experience complaints are increasing. Their testing capacity is not as massive as China, but those who have complaints are also relatively more so they must be wary of", he said.

Dicky said the public also needs to be aware of the BA2.75 subvariant, which is now developing into BA2.75.2 because the combination of the two could potentially extend the duration of wave 4 in Indonesia.

Vigilance needs to be carried out by all parties in the event of asymptomatic or asymptomatic people who are currently detected reaching 80 percent of the total infected patients in Indonesia.

"The problem is that at least 60 percent of transmission cases or transmissions occur from asymptomatic cases. This is something to watch out for", he said.

The best protection is with a booster vaccination because people who have been infected in the last month or so can still be infected again.

"So there is no permanent and strong post-infection immunity. This must be understood", said Dicky Budiman.