The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control this Friday removed subvariants BA.2, BA.4 and BA.5 of the Omicron variant from the list of variants of concern for the coronavirus that causes covid-19.
In a statement, ECDC justifies the fact that these underlines are no longer in circulation in the European Union (EU), adding that “it will continue to categorize and report specific underlines “of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus” in circulation that are relevant to the epidemiological situation”.
Subvariants BA.2, BA.4 and BA.5 “consistently spread” in the EU until the end of 2022, the ECDC said, noting that “the absence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern means the stable epidemiological situation in the European Union “.
However, this “does not mean the end of the threat of SARS-CoV-2 and possible future variants that may emerge,” warns the EU public health office.
Currently, according to ECDC, descendants of BA.2 and BA.5 are circulating together in the EU and are considered of interest (BQ.1, BA.2.75, XBB and XBB.1.5) or under monitoring (BF. 7, BA.2.3 .20, CH.1.1 and BN.1).
ECDC also includes in the list of monitored variants XBC (combining sequences from the Delta variant and subvariant BA.2 of Omicron) and XAY (combining sequences from the AY.45 subline of Delta and BA.2).
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control recommends that European public health authorities remain vigilant and strengthen monitoring systems and genetic sequencing capacity for respiratory viruses such as SARS-CoV-2. Vaccination is advised as the most important protective measure against the serious consequences of covid-19 and flu.
Covid-19 is a respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, discovered three years ago in China that has spread rapidly around the world, taking on several variants and subvariants, some more contagious than others.
Unlike ECDC, the World Health Organization – which classified COVID-19 as a pandemic on 11 March 2020 and an international public health emergency on 30 January 2020 – continues to consider Ómicron, identified at the end of 2021, as a variant of concern, including BA .1, BA.2, BA.3, BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants and recombinant forms of BA.1 and BA.2 such as XE.
Source: DN
