A New Covid Variant Is Now Spreading – Omicron BA.4.6

The omicron COVID subvariant BA.4.6, which has been rapidly spreading in the US, is now verified to be spreading in the UK.
According to the UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) most recent briefing paper on COVID variations, 3.3% of samples in the UK were BA.4.6 during the week beginning August 14. Since then, it has increased to account for about 9% of sequenced instances.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that BA.4.6 is currently responsible for more than 9% of recent cases in the US. The variation has also been seen in a number of other nations worldwide.

The omicron variation BA.4.6 is a kin of BA.4. The BA.4 form, which was initially discovered in South Africa in January 2022, has since spread over the world together with the BA.5 variant.

Though its origin is unclear, it’s probable that BA.4.6 is a recombinant variation. When two SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) variants infect the same individual simultaneously, recombination occurs.

Although BA.4.6 will resemble BA.4 in many respects, it has a mutation in the spike protein, which is a protein on the virus’s surface that permits it to enter our cells. R346T, a mutation that has been observed in other variations and is linked to immune evasion, aids the virus in eluding the body’s defences.

However, immunisation remains the best tool we have to combat COVID and continues to provide good protection against serious illness. Bivalent boosters’ recent approval is welcome news. In addition, creating multivalent coronavirus vaccines that focus on several variations could offer even longer-lasting protection.

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