Variant BA.5 - The next wave of COVID-19? - ABT - Responsibility and Creativity

The BA.5 sub-variant belonging to the Omicron variant was recently recorded in Vietnam, this sub-variant spreads quickly, but the number of hospitalizations and deaths is much less than the previous Delta variant.

BA.5 causes a new wave of COVID

Assoc. Prof. Do Van Dung said that people infected with Omicron variants can still be at risk of infecting BA.5. Therefore, countries that have experienced outbreaks of BA.1 or BA.2 may still see an increase in the number of cases.

Scientists estimate that when there is an appearance of the BA.5 sub-variant, it will infect between 5% and 30% of the population depending on the rate of vaccination against COVID-19. Currently, Vietnam has a high vaccination rate, so it is estimated that the infection rate of this sub-variant will be less than 5%.

“BA.5 appearing in Vietnam will increase the number of cases and create a new wave (but not an outbreak), this wave is smaller than the previous wave” – Assoc. Dung commented.

Regarding the number of infections showing signs of increasing in some provinces in recent days related to BA.5, Assoc. Dung said it is not clear at present because in Vietnam sequencing has not been performed for all cases of new infection.

However, it is more likely that BA.5 has entered and accounts for the majority of newly discovered cases. Since even in many developed countries, BA.5 is mistakenly recorded as BA.2, causing a delay in detection.

Mr. Phan Trong Lan, Director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, added that a number of small studies and evaluations show that sub-variants BA.4, BA.5 spread faster than the old sub-variants related to Omicron (BA.2, BA.1), but there is no evidence of the rate of severity about the new variant.

“The Ministry of Health continues to monitor the new variant and information from the World Health Organization (WHO), thereby adjusting and implementing prevention and control measures. Currently, we still apply preventive measures to adapt to the new situation,” said Mr. Lan.

6 symptoms to watch out for

If infected with the BA.5 variant, the patient often experiences the following symptoms:

Fever or chills
Uncomfortable
Loss of sense of smell
Cough
Tired
A stuffy or runny nose.

In addition to the symptoms mentioned above, CDC also urges people to look out for the following symptoms:

Shortness of breath
Muscle or body aches
Headaches
Sore throat
Nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea

Can people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 protect against sub-variant BA.5?

In the face of a new variant entering Vietnam, many people question whether the current COVID-19 vaccine is effective?

Assoc. Prof. Dung said: “Like previous Omicron sub-variants, BA.5 has the ability to partially evade the vaccine. But the vaccine still retains its effectiveness in reducing severe complications and mortality for BA.5.

Therefore, people need to get vaccinated. Elderly people or people with underlying medical conditions need the 4th dose (2nd booster) when 4 months have passed since the 3rd dose.

According to Assoc. Dung, many people currently think that if they have been infected with Omicron, they will have better immunity so they do not need the 4th injection. This is not true, studies show that in people infected with Omicronn BA.1 and not vaccinated, the amount of neutralizing antibodies produced is very low.

If they got infected with Omicron BA.1 after vaccination, the antibody will protect against the Delta and Omicron BA.1 variant, but the already present antibodies will not protect against Omicron BA.4 and BA.5. This highlights the importance of booster shots of the COVID-19 vaccine in response to this wave of BA.5.

“People need to be alert but not too worried about this sub-variant. And remember that BA.5 is not the final variant, so people need to continue to take preventive measures in accordance with circumstances and living conditions, as well as get vaccinated according to the vaccination schedule recommended by the health agencies” emphasized Assoc.Dung.

According to Dr. Vuong Anh Duong, deputy director of the Department of Medical Service Administration (Ministry of Health), the scientific evidence so far has shown that the protective effects of vaccines to prevent COVID-19 are over 50%.

Mr. Duong cited: “Recent research published by the world’s leading medical journal NEJM shows that the protective effects after the 4th vaccination can be recorded at all 5 levels of the disease. Specifically, the protective effect against COVID-19 was 52%, against symptomatic mild form was 61%, against hospitalization for COVID-19 was 72%, against severe cases was 64%, and against the risk of death from COVID-19 was 76%.

According to medical experts, each type of vaccine has a different mechanism and effect, but all help reduce the rate of severe cases and death.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the epidemic is evolving in a complicated situation and is likely to increase again. The Omicron variant dominates but is not really the last one. WHO recommends that countries maintain and improve the system of high-risk key surveillance and vaccination against Covid-19.

Source: Collector