The Department of Medical Sciences says the highly contagious Omicron subvariant BA.2 makes up 18.5% of Covid-19 cases in Thailand. However, department boss Supakit Sirilak says that while BA.2 appears to be faster spreading, there is no indication it results in more severe illness or is more likely to evade vaccines.
According to a Bangkok Post report, the DMS examined 567 Omicron samples during the period February 5 – 11 and 18.5% of them have been confirmed as BA.2, while the remainder are BA.1. Supakit says 42 imported Covid-19 infections, tested during the same period, were also found to be BA.2. However, he says the subvariant does not appear to pose a higher risk in terms of severe illness or its ability to bypass vaccines.
“There are some signs that BA.2 spreads faster than BA.1, looking at cases in other countries, but there has not been any significant difference from…
