Omicron: what do we know about ‘stealth’ subvariant BA.2?

Omicron's close cousin' has mutations that could alter how it behaves and has begun to surpass Covid's most common variety in parts of Europe and Asia

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The highly transmissible Omicron variant of the Sars-CoV-2 virus - the most common form of which is known as BA.1 - now accounts for nearly all of the coronavirus infections globally.

Though Covid cases have already peaked in some countries, scientists are now tracking a rise in cases caused by a close cousin of Omicron known as BA.2, which is starting to outcompete BA.1 in parts of Europe and Asia. The following is what we know so far about the new subvariant.