Corona omicron variant: symptoms and course

The omicron subtype BA.5 is the predominant corona variant in Germany. What you need to know about symptoms and course.

Hamm – In Germany, the 7-day incidence was recently at a very high level compared to the Corona summers of 2020 and 2021. The reason for the increased number of infections was and is the omicron variant BA.5. How dangerous is the subtype? An overview.

First, in May, the numbers in Portugal started to climb rapidly, where the new crown subtype was the first to really appear in Europe. Despite the high vaccination rate of 87%, the number of hospitalized patients and mortality related to Covid-19 have also increased in Portugal. “The BA.5 variant of the virus will also spread to us. Many, including those who have been vaccinated, will fall ill,” said World Medical Association president Frank Ulrich Montgomery. He was right.

Omicron BA.5: Symptoms and course of the infection

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) weekly Covid-19 report dated June 30, the subvariant BA.5 is predominant in Germany. The BA.2 subvariant, which had previously been dominant for months, continues to decline. However, researchers are concerned about the new BA.2.75 mutation.

Omicron BA.5: signs, symptoms and course of the corona variant

As with the other variants of Omikron, however, those vaccinated with BA.5 would get much milder disease. The risk of death is 99% lower in a vaccinated person than in an unvaccinated person. Still, Montgomery cautions to prepare well for fall and winter. Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) also continues to say that stricter corona measures may be necessary in the autumn.

Omikron BA.5 increases the number of corona infections in Germany

In Germany, the proportion of the BA.5 omicron subtype has increased since it first appeared in statistics at the end of March. At the time, it accounted for less than 0.1% of infections. At the end of May, the share was already 10%. Two thirds of corona infections can now be traced to the omicron subvariant BA.5. For comparison: the BA.4 variant is about 7%.

According to the RKI, BA.5 is also responsible for the recent increase in hospital admissions and incidence.

Omikron BA.5: What are the symptoms? How is the progress?

Let’s take a look at the origin of the new Omikron variant: just like BA.4, BA.5 is not descended from BA.1, BA.2 or BA.3. The new subtypes originate in the original variant of Omicron. According to experts, BA.4 and BA.5 have an additional mutation on the spike protein. This ensures greater contagiousness, as previous data shows.

But are the symptoms and course of an infection with the BA.5 omicron subtype different and even worse? In the BA.1 and BA.2 variants, the disease course is usually mild, especially in vaccinated people. Severe symptoms rarely occur. Infected people usually complain of headache, runny nose and occasionally fever.

The most common symptoms of the BA.5 omicron variant include:

However, a number of other symptoms are also possible, such as shortness of breath, loss of smell and taste, muscle and joint pain, sore throat and headache. According to the RKI, however, the data to date do not suggest that BA.4 or BA.5 infections cause more severe disease courses or proportionately more deaths than subline BA.1 and BA.2.

Now we know better other parameters of the Omicron BA.5 variant than the beginning of the European wave in Portugal. The researchers discovered how long the incubation period of BA.5 is, the time between infection and outbreak. Now it’s even better to know how long you are contagious with omicron.

Omikron BA.5: Do vaccinations protect with the new variant?

According to WHO, specialists are currently studying the effectiveness of current vaccines against BA.5. In addition, the manufacturers have been working for a long time on an adapted vaccine against Omicron, which should cover as many variants as possible.

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