The omicron subvariant known as BA.2 makes up more than half of all tested coronavirus samples in New England, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control.
The CDC tracks variants by region. In Region 1, which includes Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, BA.2 makes up 55.4 percent of all tested samples.
The remaining 44.6 percent are BA.1, otherwise known as the omicron variant, of which BA.2 is a subvariant.
BA.2 is, according to Yale researcher Nathan Grubaugh, about 30 percent more infectious than omicron, which is about 100 percent more infectious than the delta variant.
Ulysses Wu, chief epidemiologist at Hartford HealthCare, said the latest estimates put BA.2 at 25 percent of all tested samples in Connecticut.
The United Kingdom, among other nations, is seeing a surge in COVID cases blamed, in part, on BA.2, but Wu said he does not expect a similar spike here. He said he believes the numbers will go up, but said, “I don’t think it will be that bad.”
Wu believes the weather will make the difference: “The numbers will go up, but remember, the weather is going to make a huge difference.” COVID may be seasonal, but with spring comes a natural social distancing.
“As the weather gets nicer, all these parties are going to be outdoors all of sudden,” he said. “The only reason we had it last summer is because of the variant.”
Wu said BA.2 “concerns me a little bit,” but not all that much. Yes, it’s more infectious than its ancestor, omicron, which caused a huge spike in Connecticut and across the country, but “the reality is that it’s still just a variant of omicron,” Wu said.
That means anyone who has already contracted the omicron variant will have some measure of immunity from BA.2, not to mention the high rates of vaccination in this state. Though Wu did not discount the possibility of a dramatic increase in COVID cases and hospitalizations.
“If a spike happens then stuff will have to happen possibly, from a public health standpoint,” he said. “It depends on the degree of the spike.”
