A new COVID-19 variant — a combination of the omicron variant and the omicron subvariant — may be spreading in countries around the world.
What’s happening: Israel’s Health Ministry said Wednesday that two travelers tested positive for the new COVID-19 variant, which combines the omicron variant and the omicron variant’s subvariant, the BA.2 variant.
- Thailand said it has seen a similar coronavirus variant in recent days, calling it the “BA.2.2” variant.
BA.2.2 symptoms: The two COVID-19 patients in Israel had mild COVID-19 symptoms from the variant, including “fever, headaches and muscle aches,” the Health Ministry said.
Omicron variant symptoms: In general, the omicron variant has created a number of COVID-19 symptoms, all of which are different for patients depending on vaccination status and immunity from previous infection.
- Business Insider used data from the Zoe COVID Symptom Study to identify the top omicron variant symptoms, which included runny nose, headaches, fatigue and sneezing, among several others.
BA.2 variant symptoms: Spokane Regional Health District Health Officer Francisco Velazquez told KREM 2 News that the BA.2 variant of the omicron variant has some unique symptoms, too.
- Two major BA.2 variant symptoms include dizziness and fatigue, as I wrote for the Deseret News.
The bigger picture: Experts are continuing to monitor new COVID-19 variants that emerge, studying each new variant for potential severity and transmissibility.
- “Variants are coming and omicron was the first one,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” over the weekend.
- “So what we are trying to do, and we’re working very diligently right now, it is to make not only a vaccine that will protect against all variants, including omicron, but also something that can protect for at least a year.”