A new omicron subvariant is spreading in Cleveland as officials brace for a potential new surge

Although COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have dropped dramatically in Northeast Ohio and across the state, health officials caution that the U.S. is not completely out of the woods yet.

A more contagious subvariant of omicron, known as BA.2, is driving a significant surgein new cases in parts of Europe, and the U.S. may not be far behind, said Dr. Robert Wyllie, chief of medical operations at Cleveland Clinic.

The Cleveland Clinic started detecting BA. 2 in its labs a couple of weeks ago, Wyllie said. The subvariant is accounting for 20% of new COVID-19 cases in Ohio and several surrounding states, he said.

“What we’re worried about is, we’re going to see the cases rise, again, because it’s more infectious … so we’re likely to see cases rise here,” Wyllie said.

Health officials have dubbed BA.2 a “cousin” of the omicron variant - which is officially known as BA.1 and caused a major surge in cases and hospitalizations in Northeast Ohio during the winter months.

The two strains have similar genetic makeups, but BA.2’s mutations make it even more contagious, he said.

Although it appears to be driving recent outbreaks in several European countries, including the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Finland, BA. 2 does not seem to be causing more severe cases and deaths, Wyllie added. However, hospitalizations tend to be recorded a few weeks after spikes in cases, so health officials are watching the data closely, he said.

“BA.2 does not look like it is more severe than its cousin on BA.1. It also looks like it’s susceptible to the vaccine, just like BA.1, and if you’ve had a BA.1 infection, it looks like it does offer some protection against BA.2 as well,” Wyllie said.

Although BA.2 has been detected in Northeast Ohio, it does not seem to be driving any new upticks yet, he added. Daily case counts are down drastically, and Cleveland Clinic COVID-19 hospitalizations have dropped from 1,200 in January to 66 currently, Wyllie said.

Nationwide, the subvariant is accounting for 25% of new COVID-19 cases. Still, Wyllie said it is too early to tell what kind of impact it will have.

“The United States, really, was blanketed by BA.1 … so hopefully that’s given us enough protection, along with immunization, that we won’t see a big surge,” he said.

Another variant getting attention has been nicknamed “deltacron” for its similarities to both the delta and omicron variants. It has only been detected in small numbers thus far, however, so health officials do not believe it poses a major threat at this time, Wyllie said.

The rise in cases overseas is coming at the same time as the U.S. is largely doing away with most COVID-19 precautions, such as masking and social distancing. The CDC’s new recommendations, which are based largely on hospitalizations and hospital capacity in a given area, have designated all Northeast Ohio counties as “low risk.”

Wyllie said although Ohio is doing well right now, he encourages people to remain vigilant.

“I don’t know that we need to do anything now, but we have to be aware that we may need to put into some restrictions, in terms of masking, in the future. That may be a recommendation if we actively see an uptick in cases,” he said.

The COVID-19 vaccines seem to protect against severe illness and death, but Wyllie encourages people who have not yet received a booster shot – a third dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines or second dose of the Johnson and Johnson shot – to do so, as immunity wanes over time.

Recently, Pfizer and Moderna asked the Food and Drug Administration to approve a fourth dose booster for those who received their two-dose vaccines, he added.

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