Experts provide background on BA.2, which is now the dominant Covid variant in the U.S.

COVID-19: BA.2 is now the dominant variant in the U.S. — here's what you need to know What exactly is the Omicron subvariant BA.2 and how concerned should you be? Experts weigh in. YahooNews

It’s hard to ignore the growing buzz surrounding the latest COVID-causing variant known as BA.2, which has now become the dominant coronavirus strain in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The World Health Organization, which tracks variants, called it “a variant of concern.” But what is it and how concerned should you really be?

... Here’s what experts have to say.

The Omicron variant has “multiple lineages” associated with it, such as BA.1 and now BA.2, Dr. Mahdee Sobhanie, an infectious disease physician at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, tells Yahoo Life.

So BA.2 is a subvariant, or sublineage, of Omicron that is now “replacing the BA.1 variant, which was responsible for the surge of cases this winter,” explains Sobhanie.

Although it’s now become the dominant strain in the U.S., Dr. Steven Gordon, chair of infectious disease at Cleveland Clinic, tells Yahoo Life: “This is not a surprise, as we have learned that this subvariant is more transmissible than the original Omicron variant — which was several times more transmissible than Delta.”

When it comes to symptoms, it’s similar to other variants. Dr. Prathit Kulkarni, assistant professor of medicine in infectious diseases at Baylor College of Medicine, tells Yahoo Life that “the preliminary knowledge at this point is that the symptoms of BA.2 are not substantially different from the original Omicron strain of SARS-CoV-2.”

Sobhanie agrees, saying the symptoms of BA.2 tend to be similar to ones of other variants and respiratory viral illnesses in general — namely, “runny nose, sore throat, cough and fever,” he says, noting: “It is important to still have home tests at hand if you develop symptoms.”

However, BA.2 does appear to be highly contagious. Sobhanie describes the strain as a “more fit version of BA.1,” which means that “it can spread much more aggressively than previous variants and the BA.1 lineage.”

But more contagious doesn’t necessarily mean it’s deadlier than other variants. So far, that seems to be the case with BA.2....

 “Based on what we have seen in Europe, there is a potential to see another surge,” says Sobhanie. “It’s possible we will not see as great a surge as seen in Europe due to mitigation factors, such as warmer weather leading to more outdoor activity than indoor activity in the spring and summertime.”

He adds: “COVID has taught us that whatever happens locally will eventually happen globally — and we are watching what is going on with Europe very closely.”