Omicron Variant BA.2 Is Now the Dominant COVID-19 Variant Across the World, Causing Uptick in COVID-19 Cases

Omicron variant BA.2 is now considered to be the most dominant COVID-19 variant, not just in the U.S. but also around the world, according to the World Health Organization.

The COVID-19 subvariant now accounts for 75 percent of the COVID-19 cases globally, according to a Fox 8 News report.

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's COVID-19 lead, said that the Omicron variant BA.2 is the most transmissible variant that they have seen of the virus to date.

There has been a quick increase in COVID-19 cases in several countries, including China, Australia, and much of Europe.

WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the increases occurring despite the reductions in some countries means that the cases they are currently seeing are just "the tip of the iceberg."

The Omicron variant BA.2 currently accounts for about 23 percent of the COVID cases across the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Meanwhile, U.S. health officials are watching the spoke in COVID case numbers in the U.K. with concern.

COVID-19 Variant BA.2 in The U.S.

Dr. Anthony Fauci said that what happens in the U.K. usually happens in the U.S. a few weeks later over the last year or so, according to an NPR News report.

U.K. has attributed the increase of the quick-spreading Omicron variant BA.2 to the removal of COVID restrictions, as well as the waning immunity from vaccinations and infections.

Fauci noted that all three of those factors were seen in the United States, adding that he would not be surprised if officials are going to see a slight uptick in the next few weeks.

The infectious disease expert said that the scenario is entirely conceivable and that people have to just "follow it carefully."

Lauren Ancel Meyers, director of the COVID-19 Modeling Consortium at the University of Texas at Austin, said that the landscape of immunity varies by time and place, with the effects of the subvariant being hard to predict.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said that one percent of the population is living in areas where they believe that masking should be recommended at this point.

Omicron Variant BA.2

BA.2 is considered by the WHO as a "sublienage" of the highly transmissible omicron variant, according to a USA Today News report.

The BA.2 has a different sequence from BA.1 and was first dubbed as the "stealth variant" as it was not as easy to detect.

BA.2 accounted for about a quarter of the cases for the week ending March 12, according to CDC.

The week ending March 5 has reported cases of BA.2 of about 14.2 percent.

It is not yet known if BA.2 causes severe illness as did Omicron BA.1 did, which had caused a rapid surge in cases, hospitalizations, and deaths for a month before plummeting as quickly.

In addition, it does not look as if BA.2 is making a noticeable impact. However, public health officials say they are closely monitoring its spread.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: COVID-19 omicron subvariant, BA.2 - from Good Morning America