The corona pandemic is not over, as the discovery of the omicron subtype BA.5 shows. What are the symptoms, course and incubation period?
Berlin/Lisbon – Corona rules are falling across the board, cultural life is returning – the pandemic is far from over. That makes them Discovery of the omicron subtype BA.5 in Portugal clear. The Corona variant is causing serious concern to World Medical Director Frank Ulrich Montgomery, who warns of a spread in Deutschland. But what is already known about the Omikron BA.5? What about vaccines, the incubation period, symptoms and the course?
Omicron BA.5: New corona subtype causes Karl Lauterbach and world medical director great concern
Montgomery looks at the with a worried expression Omikron-Subvariant BA.5. It will also spread in Germany, vaccinated people would also fall ill with it, which would lead to increasing numbers in the This could lead to sick leave, which has not been possible since June 1, 2022 are. But vaccinated people would at least have to contend with significantly milder symptoms. “The smarter we behave now, the fewer drastic measures we need in autumn and winter. Wear a mask voluntarily wherever a lot of people come together,” is the advice from the head of the World Medical Association to the “Rheinische Post”.
Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) takes a similar view of the omicron subvariant BA.5 discovered in Portugal. Of the Not least with regard to monkeypox, Lauterbach is known as a reminder speaks of a possible corona wave next autumn. The qualified doctor also refers to a laboratory graphic that shows the proportion of the omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5 “in the southern German catchment area” at around 15 percent
Omikron BA.5: How dangerous is the corona subtype – and how did it come about?
But what danger does the omicron subvariant BA.5 actually pose? In order to get to the bottom of the matter, it is advisable to first look at the origin of the subtype. Either BA.5 and BA.4 are omicron variants with its own origin. So they do not descend from BA.1, BA.2 or BA.3, but rather have the common omicron precursor, the original variant, i.e. their origin.
The omicron variants also have a mutation on the so-called spike protein, which increases their virulence, i.e. their ability to be infected. Virologist Christian Drosten had already referred to this on Twitter. In addition, “the new data from Portugal would show that BA.4 and BA.5 definitely have a growth advantage over Omicron BA.1 and Omikron BA.2 need to have”. This is what virologist Christoph Steininger from Med-Uni Vienna says to the “Augsburger Allgemeine”.
Omicron BA.5: Is the corona subtype causing the number of cases to increase again?
The omicron subtype BA.5 can, but does not necessarily have to, lead to a drastic increase in the number of cases. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the infection pressure in Germany remains high, but the current spread of the sublines would not have an extreme impact on the numbers. Still predominant in Germany is the Omicron variant BA.2, which sometimes has special symptoms, with 97.4 percent. The RKI refers to this.
In the context of the omicron subtype BA.5, however, experts also fear that falling protective measures and large summer events such as this Hurricane 2022 could cause more infections again. The dissemination of BA.5 can, but does not necessarily have to be promoted. In terms of prevention, the World Health Organization (WHO) has already classified both BA.4 and BA.5 as “of concern”.
Omicron BA.5: Which symptoms indicate an infection with the corona subtype?
A new omicron subtype such as BA.5 also raises questions about associated symptoms. For BA.1 and BA.2, the following applied and applies: the course of the disease is usually mild, severe symptoms only rarely appear here after an infection. Appropriate vaccinations, especially the booster vaccinationof course, play a large part in this.
With these omicron variants, there is usually talk of a cold and headache, and in rare cases fever. According to virologists, however, the newer omicron subtypes have increased coughing again, and the symptoms are similar to those of bronchitis. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), specialists are currently investigating the extent to which BA.4 and BA.5 differ from the previous variants in terms of speed of spread and course of the disease.
Omikron BA.5: What is the incubation period for corona subtypes?
Since research is still intensively investigating the omicron subtype, the incubation period of BA.5 can only be speculated on. The fact is: In a direct comparison, the incubation time for Omikron BA.1 and Omikron BA.2 can sometimes be different. In a time spectrum of three to six days, everything is possible with the new corona variant. From this point of view, it could theoretically take almost a week before the first symptoms appear after infection with BA.5.
Omikron BA.5: How widespread is the corona subtype in Germany?
Omikron BA.4 and BA.5 have already been detected in Germany. In his Weekly report of May 25, 2022 the RKI makes it clear how quickly the omicron subtype BA.5 in particular is spreading. The proportion of this corona variant would have increased almost fivefold in a period of two weeks. We are talking about 2.5 percent of the corona infections in Germany in which BA.5 was detected, and one Sick leave due to infection with omicron was necessary.
Omikron BA.5: How well do the common vaccines protect against the corona subtypes?
According to the WHO, specialists are currently also investigating the effectiveness of the current vaccines against the new omicron subtype BA.5. At the same time, the vaccine manufacturers are working flat out on a so-called pan vaccine. This means a vaccine that covers as many corona variants as possible – and ideally also the omicron subtype BA.5.
Omikron BA.5: Will the adapted vaccine against the subtype be available in autumn?
It looks like this. The US company Moderna has announced that the vaccine adapted to Omicron can be approved and delivered as early as August. Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) also said at the federal press conference on June 17 in Berlin that new vaccines against Omikron BA.5 are expected in autumn. The vaccines from Biontech and Moderna are then adapted to the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5. According to Lauterbach, negotiations with the pharmaceutical companies are already underway.
Omicron BA.5: How well does the adapted vaccine (booster) work against the omicron subtypes?
Apparently good. New studies show: The one adapted to the highly contagious omicron variant Corona vaccine from Moderna shows a strong immune response to the new subvariants. Which means: It works against Omikron BA.5.
The US company Moderna announced on Wednesday, June 22nd: The corona vaccination caused a weaker immune reaction against the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 than against the BA.1 variant, against which it specifically had been developed. But the data would indicate that the new corona vaccination could offer “lasting protection against the entire family of omicron variants”.
* Transparency notice: This article is continuously updated, last on Thursday 23 June 2022 at 2:00 p.m.