Is the next COVID wave on its way to KC? Here’s what to know about ‘stealth omicron’
.JPG "Local doctors are recommending people get their COVID vacccine booster shot if they haven’t yet, before a potential next wave.")
A strain of the highly contagious omicron variant, known as BA.2, has been present in Kansas City’s wastewater for months. Now, it’s slowly appearing in more and more sewersheds around the state.
“The understanding is that eventually, within the next couple of months, that BA.2 is going to completely take over from the original omicron,” said Dr. Raghu Adiga, chief medical officer of Liberty Hospital.
However, that doesn’t mean that the subvariant will necessarily cause a significant spike in cases. While it is likely to increase infections somewhat, experts predict that the next “wave” will be mild.
“With omicron and with delta, it was very, very reliable. We saw the virus [in wastewater], and then in two weeks, boom. It shoots up. That is not at all what we’re seeing with BA.2,” said Dr. Marc Johnson, a University of Missouri microbiologist who leads a wastewater testing lab that sequences viral samples from around the state. “There are sewersheds where we’ve been seeing it now for 3 months.”
He added that case numbers have been decreasing during the subvariant’s entire tenure in Missouri so far..
Still, Adiga recommended a number of measures to keep yourself safe, including completing your COVID vaccinations and getting any booster shots you’re eligible for, especially if you are immunocompromised or over the age of 65. Getting your vaccine or booster now will give it time to take full effect before BA.2 begins causing more infections in the area.
What is the BA.2 subvariant?
BA.2 is a variation of the omicron variant, which caused the most recent wave of COVID infections, hospitalizations and deaths in the Kansas City area. While it is chemically different from the “original” omicron, or BA.1, Adiga told The Star that it is clinically the same.
That means that although its genetic makeup is different, BA.2 won’t make you any sicker or more likely to go to the hospital than BA.1. Its symptoms, and their severity, are pretty much the same as the first omicron variant.
“For an individual patient, an individual case, it makes no difference what they have,” Adiga said. “It is only of significance from a broader community health perspective, what’s going to happen, whether it’s going to spread more.”
Early research suggests that some of the same antibody infusions and antiviral treatments that doctors have been using to combat other variants also work well against BA.2. Adiga added that the currently available COVID vaccines also offer strong protection against the new subvariant.
What’s the difference between BA.2 and the “original” omicron?
The difference between these two subvariants lies in their genetic sequence– something Johnson examines regularly in samples of wastewater from all over the state.
“As of last week about a third of the sewersheds I sequenced had BA.2 in them,” he said. However, he added that this increased share of the viral load didn’t correlate with a rise in the load itself. “It’s taking up a bigger piece of the pie, but the pie is getting smaller.”
Clinically, the main difference between the two is that BA.2 appears to be slightly more contagious than the original omicron variant was. COVID case numbers and deaths in Kansas City are stagnating rather than continuing to drop like they have been in past weeks. The new subvariant could bring these numbers back up.
Dr. Adiga warned that seniors, immunocompromised people and partially vaccinated or unvaccinated people are at the highest risk of catching this new variant due to their already weakened immune systems.
If I already caught COVID during the omicron surge, am I immune to BA.2?
Early data reviewed by the World Health Organization suggests that recent infection from the omicron variant does offer protection against BA.2. However, Adiga noted that this immunity only lasts for around six months. That means that if you caught COVID-19 in December, you wouldn’t be protected from the new subvariant by around May or June.
There have also been instances of recent omicron patients still catching BA.2 soon after their last illness. That means you shouldn’t assume that a recent omicron infection will definitely protect you from the new strain.
How can I stay safe from the BA.2 subvariant?
BA.2 isn’t a cause for panic, and the increases it causes in case numbers will likely be mild. Still, the best way to build up your immune system’s defenses against BA.2 is to get fully vaccinated and make sure you have received your booster shot. Some highly immunocompromised people are also eligible for a second booster shot. Here’s a guide to vaccination sites in Kansas City.
“I do think the numbers will go up from where we are today in Kansas City in the number of patients in the hospital, but it is unlikely to be overwhelming like what we had before,” Adiga said. “It’s unlikely to be a huge wave, but it can still cause significant problems individually.”
Do you have more questions about staying safe from COVID-19 in Kansas City? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 1:30 PM.
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