Danish study finds Omicron subvariant is 33% more infectious than original BA.1 variant
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A Danish study has found that the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron COVID-19 variant is more transmissible than the more common BA.1 and more able to infect vaccinated people, source Reuters.
The study, which analyzed infections in more than 8,500 Danish households between December and January, found that people infected with the BA.2 subvariant were roughly 33% more likely to infect others, compared to those infected with BA.1.
"If you have been exposed to Omicron BA.2 in your household, you have 39% probability of being infected within seven days. If you instead had been exposed to BA.1, the probability is 29%," lead study author Frederik Plesner told Reuters.
That suggests BA.2 is around 33% more infectious than BA.1, he added. BA.2 infections account for roughly 82% of cases in Denmark.
"We conclude that Omicron BA.2 is inherently substantially more transmissible than BA.1, and that it also possesses immune-evasive properties that further reduce the protective effect of vaccination against infection," the study's researchers said.
The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, was conducted by researchers at Statens Serum Institut (SSI), Copenhagen University, Statistics Denmark and Technical University of Denmark.
Vaccine names: Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX), Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN), and Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX).
The study also confirms preliminary analysis from England, which showed BA.2 subvariant was linked to higher transmissibility than the BA.1 type.