Omicron variant

What is the Omicron variant?

The Omicron variant is a variant of the COVID-19 virus. Omicron variant is the common name used to refer to what is technically known as the B.1.1.529 variant.

A variant of a virus is a new strain that has emerged due to a mutation (or mutations) in the virus’s genetic structure.

Use and awareness of the name Omicron variant became more common in news reports and public health communications in late 2021, including those about whether it could potentially be more contagious or more severe than previous variants, such as the Delta variant.

What is the Omicron subvariant?

The term Omicron subvariant most commonly refers to the BA.2 subvariant (subtype) of the Omicron variant. The BA.2 subvariant is sometimes called stealth Omicron (or the stealth variant) in casual use because it is somewhat more difficult to distinguish from other variants in lab tests. However, this does not mean that it’s not detectable at all. (Public health officials and medical experts have cautioned against the use of nicknames like stealth Omicron, which they say can cause panic and misconceptions about such variants.)

The BA.2 variant became the subject of public health scrutiny and media reports in early 2022 due to having replaced the original Omicron variant as the dominant strain in some places. Based on some studies, the BA.2 variant is even more transmissible than the already highly transmissible original Omicron variant. However, there has been no evidence showing that the BA.2 variant causes more severe illness than the original Omicron variant. Early studies have shown that vaccination is just as effective against the BA.2 subvariant as it is against the original form of the Omicron variant.

The BA.2 subvariant is just one of the subvariants of the Omicron variant. These subvariants have additional mutations not found in the original variant, but they are still similar enough not to be considered completely distinct variants.