More numerous reinfections with the BA-2 variant?

With a number of new cases hovering around 190,000 per day, the BA-2 variant, which has become very largely the majority – it would represent up to 92% of infections, according to the latest epidemiological bulletin from Public Health France – only generates a slight increase in hospitalizations but does not seem to have any consequences on the level of patients in intensive care. On the other hand, there is increasing evidence that this variant plays a role in the increase in the number of reinfections.

Several studies point out that this BA-2 variant can contaminate people who have recently been infected with its predecessor, BA-1, and this within a period of less than 60 days. Logical insofar as WHO epidemiologists announced on March 25 that “BA-2 is the most contagious variant we have seen so far”. Fortunately, it is also confirmed, according to the same source, that BA-2 does not cause a more serious form than BA-1.

Similar vaccine efficacy between GA-& and BA-2

As for the efficacy of the vaccine, there too, almost no difference between BA-1 and BA-2: “This efficacy is similar: after two doses it was 10% for BA-1 and 18% for BA-2 but with a third dose, it rose to 69 and 74% respectively for the BA-1 and BA-2 variants with a drop of around 50% of the protection, two and a half months after the booster dose”, specified at the end of February Health Public France. “This suggests that vaccination could be more effective in preventing the transmission of BA-2 compared to BA-1”, even added the Agency.

And on the symptoms, there again nothing new for several weeks: less loss of taste and smell than with the previous variants of SARS-CoV-2, in particular because this BA-2 variant affects the upper respiratory tract. So the most commonly felt effects remain fatigue, cough, runny nose, moderate fever accompanied by body aches, headaches and more rarely nausea and vomiting.