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MANILA, Philippines鈥擮ver three years into the pandemic, cases of COVID-19 continue to ramp up globally as SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes it, continues to mutate and evolve with the newest strain: BA.2.75.
Based on records by World Health Organization (WHO), BA.2.75, BA.2 sub-lineage or a sub-variant of the Omicron variant, was first documented in India in May this year and has been spreading quickly ever since.
The newly-discovered sub-variant, according to WHO, has so far been detected in 10 countries and is categorized by the WHO as a sub-variant under monitoring, along with six other Omicron sub-variants.
In this article,聽聽will provide more details about the BA.2.75 sub-variant and what makes it a global concern.
WHO: Wait and see
The newest Omicron sub-variant has so far been detected in India, Australia, Japan, Canada, the United States of America (US), Germany, the United Kingdom (UK), and most recently in the Netherlands.
In the Netherlands, the BA.2.75 sub-variant was first detected in a sample last June 26 in the region of Noordost-Gelderland, according to the Dutch National Institute of Public Health.
GRAPHIC Ed Lustan
鈥淣ot much is known about BA.2.75 at this point,鈥� the institute noted. However, it said the sub-variant 鈥渁ppears to more easily bypass the defenses built up against SARS-CoV-2 through small, specific changes鈥�.
READ: Netherlands latest country to detect COVID-19 Centaurus subvariant
Earlier this month, WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said that the UN agency was closely monitoring the new version of Omicron, but she emphasized that 鈥渢here are still limited sequences available to analyze.鈥�
鈥淸T]his sub-variant seems to have few mutations on the receptor binding domain of the spike protein鈥� so we have to watch that,鈥� said Swaminathan.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still too early to know if this sub-variant has properties of additional immune invasion or indeed of being more clinically severe. We don鈥檛 know that,鈥� she added.
GRAPHIC Ed Lustan
The chief scientist said WHO will have to 鈥渨ait and see鈥� as the organization鈥檚 Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (TAG VE) constantly looks at data from around the world.
鈥淸I]f at any time if there is an emergence of a virus that looks very different from a previous one enough to be called a separate variant of concern, then the committee will do that.鈥�
Twitter verse and BA.2.75鈥檚 nickname
WHO follows a Greek naming system in labeling key variants of SARS-CoV-2.
Last year, on May 31, the UN agency announced that it would use the letters of the Greek alphabet to rename the variants to make them easier to say and remember as well as to avoid stigma and discrimination.
Prior to this, variants were named after their country of origin and where they were first detected.
These labels, however, do not replace the existing scientific names of variants鈥攁ssigned by GISAID, Nexstrain, and Pango鈥攚hich convey important scientific information and will remain to be used in research.
READ: Kappa: The continuing mutation of the COVID virus
WHO currently only renames variants that are on its list of Variants of Concern (VOC) and Variants of Interest (VOI)鈥攃overing both currently and previously circulating VOCs and VOIs.
READ: Omicron: What science knows so far about latest Greek-lettered COVID variant
WHO has yet to assign a Greek letter for the BA.2.75 as it remains an Omicron sub-variant and not a VOC nor a VOI.
Recently, the strain has been recently dubbed online鈥攁nd in several international reports鈥攁s 鈥淐entaurus,鈥� which started with a Twitter user.
鈥淚 have just named BA.2.75 variant after a galaxy. Its new name is Centaurus strain,鈥� Twitter user Xabier Ostale wrote on July 2.
GRAPHIC Ed Lustan
In a story published in the Washington Post, Emma Hodcroft, a molecular epidemiologist and researcher at the Switzerland鈥檚 University of Bern, said that with the lack of an 鈥渆asy, mutual language鈥� about a variant, people would start looking for one.
鈥淲ith Centaurus, as far as naming goes, it鈥檚 fine in that it鈥檚 not geographical, it鈥檚 not harmful, it鈥檚 not misleading. Nobody鈥檚 getting it mixed up with a constellation,鈥� Hodcroft said.
鈥淏ut it may not be so lucky next time,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e moved into a new phase of the pandemic now with these variants. They鈥檙e all kind of part of the same family.鈥�
She suggested revisiting the naming system for sub-variants, adding that if no one were writing or talking about BA.2.75, 鈥淐entaurus probably wouldn鈥檛 have gotten much traction.鈥�
In a separate series of tweets, Ostale explained that the public understands names or nicknames assigned to variants, sub-variants, and sub-lineages of SARS-CoV-2 rather than letters and numbers鈥攔eferring to scientific terms.
鈥淲HO isn鈥檛 doing what they should do, name the variants and sub-lineages that are spreading more,鈥� he wrote.
鈥淣ot everybody is a PhD that gets informed everyday about variants and sub-lineages. They just watch the news from time to time, if they are said BA.2.75 is surging in many countries, they are not going to get an idea, they won鈥檛 even be able to talk with others about it,鈥� he added.
鈥淸W]hatever people call it, its emergence is yet another example of SARS-CoV-2鈥檚 impressive capacity for change, and a warning that further variants and sub-variants will continue to emerge for as long as large numbers of people continue to be infected,鈥� said international organization Gavi聽Vaccine Alliance.
Gavi added that continued surveillance of the virus remains 鈥渆ssential,鈥� as well as continued preventive measures against infections and reinfections.
鈥淭his includes vaccines, as well as improved ventilation, avoiding other people if you have symptoms, and considering wearing a good quality mask in crowded public spaces.鈥�
No need for tighter border controls
Despite growing concerns over the BA.2.75 Omicron sub-variant, the Department of Health (DOH) has yet to recommend reimposing tight border controls in the Philippines.
鈥淲e do not recommend further restrictions on our borders just because we have detected additional sub-variants in other countries. But we would like to remain vigilant,鈥� said acting Health Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
鈥淥ur surveillance system is up. We are closely monitoring. We are prepared in our communities and even in our hospitals if and when the number of cases continues to increase in the country,鈥� she added.
READ: No need to reimpose tight border controls despite new Omicron subvariants 鈥� DOH
The country鈥檚 health department has previously recorded 79 new COVID-19 Omicron sub-variant infections鈥�60 of these cases were of the BA.5 sub-lineage, 17 were BA.2.12.1, and two were BA.4.
READ: BA.5: Another Omicron sub-variant and its impact on PH recovery
READ: PH detects 79 new COVID-19 Omicron sub-variant infections
Will vaccines work?
Experts have been weighing in on whether the currently available COVID vaccines will work against the BA.2.75 Omicron sub-variant.
Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), told CBS 黑料社 there are high hopes that the vaccine can still protect individuals against serious illnesses even with the new sub-variants.
鈥淭he silver lining is it probably is going to perform the same way, where if you are vaccinated and boosted your B cells and T cells will kick the enemy out even if the front guards have cataracts on their eyes.鈥�
Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady told US network NBC that vaccinations remain critical as new variants and sub-variants emerge.
鈥淸W]e鈥檙e not seeing any change at this point in terms of protection against severe illness or major change and severity,鈥� she said.
鈥淎nd while that remains true, it鈥檚 about getting up-to-date with your boosters, wearing your masks indoors, especially if you鈥檙e in settings where you don鈥檛 know a vaccine status, you know, testing, isolating, quarantining. There鈥檚 no magic to this, but we do have the tools.鈥�
Cleveland Clinic has reminded the public that heeding preventive measures and protocols against COVID-19 and the virus鈥� variants and sub-variants can help minimize infection and reinfection鈥攅specially amid the spread of BA.2.75.
鈥淭he best preventive measures include getting vaccinated, wearing a mask during times of high transmission, staying 6 feet apart, washing hands often, and avoiding people who are sick.鈥�