New Omicron variant could prolong the UK epidemic warn experts

Fears are growing over an Omicron variant that is spreading rapidly across the world, with experts warning that it could prolong the UK epidemic and NHS pressures.

The BA.2 variant was classed as a variant under investigation (VUI) by the UK Health Security Agency (UKSHA) last week.

It has been described as very similar to the original Omicron strain of Covid, but scientists are unclear on how the variant will impact the epidemic.

By the end of last week, some 40 countries uploaded around 10,000 sequences of BA.2 to the Gisaid genomic database, Denmark is reported to have uploaded the highest number.

The Philippines were the first to upload sequences of data in November, but since then Denmark has submitted more than 6,000, India 530, Sweden 181 and Singapore 127.

The new variant has been reported in the UK, with 426 confirmed cases as of January 21.

The majority of the cases have been reported in London (121) with a further 97 in the South East.

The UKHSA says it has designated the variant as a VUI due to the high speed it has spread at.

Dr Meera Chand, Covid-19 incident director at UKHSA, said: “It is the nature of viruses to evolve and mutate, so it’s to be expected that we will continue to see new variants emerge as the pandemic goes on.

"Our continued genomic surveillance allows us to detect them and assess whether they are significant."So far, there is insufficient evidence to determine whether BA.2 causes more severe illness than omicron BA.1, but data is limited and UKHSA continues to investigate".

Francois Balloux, professor of computational biology at University College, London, told The Telegraph that there is no evidence the BA.2 variant is vastly different to the original Omicron strain, in how it could evade immunity or its virulence.

He said: “At this stage, BA.1 and BA.2 can be considered as two epidemiologically largely equivalent sub-lineages of Omicron".

Professor Oliver Johnson, director for the Institute of Statistical Science at Bristol University, says the new variant could cause a "parallel pandemic" of BA.1 and BA.2 strains, but added that it is not worth "panicking about".