According to Boden-Albala said, those symptoms may include the following: Fever Chills Fatigue Cough Body aches Shortness of breath Sore throat Additionally, some people may report upper. Ongoing analysis by UKHSA has found no evidence that infection with Omicron BA.2 results in a greater risk of hospitalisation, compared to Omicron BA.1. There is currently no evidence of community transmission within the UK. Runny or congested nose Feeling fatigued Headache New, continuous cough Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing Muscle or body aches New loss of a sense of taste or smell Sore throat Nausea or vomiting Diarrhoea They advise that if you develop one or more of these symptoms you should take a Covid test as soon as possible. A booster dose was associated with a 74% reduced risk of hospitalisation in the first 2 to 4 weeks after vaccination, with the figure dropping to 66% 10 weeks or more after this dose. Please also make sure to follow all Government guidance to reduce the spread of infection. Typical meningitis symptoms include neck stiffness or pain, numbness, tingling, and sensitivity to light. As the coronavirus continues to evolve, a new highly contagious Omicron variant is appearing in India and other nations, including the United States, experts say.. Please take up this offer as soon as you are eligible to protect yourself, your families and your communities. The UK has been hard-hit by a further spike in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks, with infections being driven by a sub-lineage of the Omicron variant known as BA.2 or "Stealth Omicron". Further studies are underway in the UK and abroad. Booster jabs are protecting people against infection and severe disease so I urge you to play your part in our national mission and get boosted now. Dr Meera Chand, Director of Clinical and Emerging Infection at UKHSA, said: It is not unexpected to see new variants of SARS-CoV-2 emerge. Nine cases have also been identified in Scotland, with 5 cases in the Lanarkshire area and 4 in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area. BQ.1 (V-22OCT-01) is a BA.5 sub-lineage which has been designated on the basis of rapid growth. Booster doses also increase the protection against symptomatic and asymptomatic infection which will reduce transmission in the population. We have now identified cases in the East Midlands, East of England, London, South East and North West. There are indications of a small rise in children admitted to hospital, but these early signals need further investigations before we can draw any conclusions about whether Omicron causes more severe illness in children. UKHSA encourage everyone to continue to follow the most up-to date guidance. This new UKHSA data on Omicron is promising while 2 doses of the vaccine arent enough, we know boosters offer significant protection against the variant and early evidence suggests this strain may be less severe than Delta. This new mutation dubbed BA.2.75 is concerning scientists because it appears to spread fast, bypassing the protection offered by COVID-19 vaccines and immunity from previous infection, the Associated Press reported Monday. UKHSA has also this week published further vaccine effectiveness data against hospitalisation following a booster dose. The majority of these cases are located in London and the South East. If the growth rate and doubling time continue at the rate we have seen in the last 2 weeks, we expect to see at least 50% of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases to be caused by Omicron variant in the next 2 to 4 weeks. A further 3 cases have been identified in Scotland, bringing the total to 13. A number of Omicron variants are currently circulating in England, many of which have acquired mutations which may produce a degree of immune escape. Two-thirds with Omicron say they had Covid before. We also use cookies set by other sites to help us deliver content from their services. Please make sure to wear a mask in line with government guidance, including on public transport and in shops, to help break the chains of transmission and slow the spread of this new variant. This will include analysing live samples of the new variant in our laboratories to investigate properties such as response to current vaccines. In the age group of 20-50 years, significant severity is not expected. The COVID Omicron sub-variant BA.2, informally dubbed the "Stealth Omicron" variant, is able to reinfect people who have already had Omicron, a new study suggests. Prior infection is 44% effective at preventing future infection, increasing to 71% with 3 doses of the vaccine. We have now identified cases in the East Midlands, East of England, London, South East and North West. UKHSA will continue to designate new variants, and these will receive a variant number (in the format V-date-number). In the last week, VUI-21OCT-01 accounted for approximately 6% of all Delta cases. Everybody who is contacted or has symptoms should take a PCR test as soon as possible, even if they have received a positive COVID-19 PCR test within the last 90 days. As is routine for any new variants under investigation,UKHSAis carrying out laboratory and epidemiological investigations to better understand the characteristics of this variant. Thats why its so important that everybody, everywhere, takes simple steps to protect themselves from infection. However, it should be noted both that this is early data and more research is required to confirm these findings. Dr Jenny Harries, UKHSA Chief Executive, said: Our latest analysis shows an encouraging early signal that people who contract the Omicron variant may be at a relatively lower risk of hospitalisation than those who contract other variants. The most commonly-reported symptoms with the original Omicron variant were cough, fatigue, headache, congestion, and runny nose. The first sequences were submitted from the Philippines, and most samples have been uploaded from Denmark (6,411). News stories, speeches, letters and notices, Reports, analysis and official statistics, Data, Freedom of Information releases and corporate reports. Follow the latest self-isolation rules if you develop symptoms wear a mask where required to do so, take regular LFD tests and observe good hand hygiene. Lower back pain. People infected with Omicron are also less likely to experience fever or loss of taste and smell. So far, there is insufficient evidence to determine whether BA.2 causes more severe illness than Omicron BA.1, but data is limited and UKHSA continues to investigate. Since BA.2 is a sub-strain of the Omicron variant, it is expected that its symptoms will be similar. Trends in SGTF over and time are however affected by the coverage of laboratories contributing to this surveillance data. Omicron has branched into three lineages, explains Thomas Russo, M.D., professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York: BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3. We are continuing to monitor the data closely. The individuals that have tested positive are not connected to each other and are not linked to the previously confirmed cases. Technical Briefing 34 contains further analysis on symptom comparison on Omicron and Delta. Vaccination is critical to help us bolster our defences against this new variant so please get your first, second, third or booster jab as soon as you are eligible to protect yourself, your families and your communities. So far, vaccination means that the rise in cases is not translating to a rise in severe illness and deaths. The highly transmissible Omicron variant now accounts for half of the world's infections. The best way that you can protect yourself is to come forward for your first 2 doses of vaccine, or your booster jab and do everything you can to stop onward transmission of the infection. UKHSA scientists are urging anyone who has not had all the vaccines they are eligible for to make sure that they get them as soon as possible. As viruses mutate often and at random, it is not unusual for small numbers of cases to arise featuring new sets of mutations. A preliminary assessment by UKHSA did not find a difference in vaccine effectiveness, although it said there was no data yet available on severity. This data shows that protection against severe illness from COVID-19 remains at over 90% in those aged 65 and over up to 14 weeks after a booster dose. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published a new variant technical briefing containing updated analysis on Omicron hospitalisation risk and vaccine efficacy against symptomatic disease and hospitalisation. Early data shows that young children who are hospitalised experience mild illness and are discharged after short stays in hospital. Omicron BA.4 and Omicron BA.5 were designated as variants of concern on 18 May on the basis of an apparent growth advantage over the previously-dominant Omicron BA.2 variant. The analysis included very small numbers of cases as only a few people in the UK currently have this variant, meaning this data should be interpreted with caution until more cases have been studied. It is projected that if current trends continue unchanged, the UK will exceed one million infections a day by the end of this month. Our continued genomic surveillance allows us to further investigate variants that are growing within the UK. Currently, approximately half of all tests conducted in the UK are able to detect SGTF. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 99% of viral DNA submitted to the global GISAID database as of 25 January were identified as this sub-variant. The Omicron variant of Covid-19 includes the lineages BA.1, BA.2, BA.3 and B.1.1.529. The data once again shows that coming forward for your jab, particularly your third dose, is the best way of protecting yourself and others against infection and severe disease. That contrasts to Denmark, where it has become dominant. It remains vital that anyone with COVID-19 symptoms isolates and gets aPCRtest immediately. The variant technical briefing also includes updated analysis on Omicron BA.2, currently the dominant variant in the UK. An important question is whether BA.2 or BA.3 will become a new dominating "variant of concern". Vaccination is critical to help us bolster our defences against this new variant please get your first, second, third or booster jab without delay. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has identified 2 further cases of COVID-19 with mutations consistent with B.1.1.529 in England, in addition to the previous 3 confirmed cases of the SARS-CoV-2 variant known as B.1.1.529 on 27 and 28 November. The total number of confirmed cases in England is now 104. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has identified 75 further cases of COVID-19 with mutations consistent with B.1.1.529 in England, in addition to the previous 29 confirmed cases of the SARS-CoV-2 variant known as B.1.1.529. A further case has been identified in Scotland, bringing the total to 10. There is currently no data on the severity of BA.2. UKHSA Chief Medical Advisor, Dr Susan Hopkins said: It is increasingly evident that Omicron is highly infectious and there is emerging laboratory and early clinical evidence to suggest that both vaccine-acquired and naturally acquired immunity against infection is reduced for this variant. As always, the booster vaccine remains the best protection against infection. Based on the reports from doctors treating the Covid variant and patients battling. It appears to have a growth advantage compared to the version of Omicron, BA.1, that has swept the globe. We have now identified cases in the East Midlands, East of England, London and North West. As part of UKHSAs routine genomic surveillance, approximately 15 to 20% of all positive PCR tests are also sent for sequencing. We have also learnt that BA.2 has a slightly higher secondary attack rate than BA.1 in households. It has since swept the globe, eventually vanquishing other variants including delta. Vaccination is critical to help us bolster our defences against this new variant please get your first, second or booster jab without delay. Now more countries, particularly in Asia and Europe, are reporting an increase in cases driven by BA.2. We use some essential cookies to make this website work. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is reminding people to ensure their COVID-19 vaccinations are up to date and to continue following COVID-safe behaviours, as latest technical data indicates BA.4 and BA.5 have become dominant in the UK and are driving the recent increase in infections. As of 24 January 2022, 1,072 genomically confirmed cases of BA.2 have been identified in England and all assessments remain preliminary whilst case numbers are relatively low. Dr Meera Chand, UKHSA Director of Clinical an Emerging Infection, said: We continue to monitor the emergence of new variants and give them variant designations if they are sufficiently distinct to warrant separate epidemiological and laboratory assessment. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published a new variant technical briefing describing ongoing work on the Omicron variant. A BA2 variant's symptoms are similar to those of Omicron. Our data also show that 17.5 per cent of people aged 75 years and over have not had a vaccine within the past six months, putting them more at risk of severe disease. Because of a quirk in how it shows up in test results, we can see the numbers of suspected BA.2 doubled in the week up to 24 January. However, vaccinated people are still less likely to get infected than unvaccinated individuals, and they are also less likely to pass it on.