Vaccinated individuals might have a milder experience with the BA.2 variant compared to unvaccinated people, an infectious disease expert recently told the Deseret News.
Driving the news: Dr. Robert Quigley, an infectious disease expert and senior vice president of International SOS, a leading medical and security services company, told the Deseret News in an email that vaccinated people will likely experience more mild COVID-19 cases of the BA.2 variant.
What he said: “Those who are vaccinated are still at risk for COVID-19, including this new sub-variant BA.2,” Quigley told the Deseret News.
- “Those who are fully vaccinated tend to be classified as mild or moderate cases compared to those who are not vaccinated, including milder symptoms and fewer hospitalizations,” he said.
Yes, but: Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and medical analyst, told CNN that the BA.2 variant is still problematic for anyone who is “vulnerable to severe illness from Covid-19 despite vaccination” and that those individuals “should be concerned about the coronavirus in general.”
- “Covid-19 infection will result in mild illness” for most people, she told CNN. But “those who are moderately or severely immunocompromised or with multiple underlying medical conditions — the infection still could result in hospitalization.”
The bigger picture: Experts are closely monitoring the BA.2 subvariant of the coronavirus. Coronavirus cases are expected to rise in the coming weeks because society is opening up more and because there’s been a surge in Europe and Asia.