Known as BA.2.75, the coronavirus mutation has been found across India and in smaller numbers in at least 10 other countries, including Australia, Germany, the UK, the US and Canada. “As of July 6, there are an estimated 5 detections of BA.2.75 in Canada based on the preliminary definition,” a spokesperson for Public Health Canada told CTVNews.ca. “These numbers may change as the definition of this subcategory is clarified.” While BA.2.75 is believed to be highly transmissible and able to evade vaccines and immunity from previous infections, it is still unknown whether it causes more severe disease than other variants. “It’s still too early to draw too many conclusions,” Matthew Binicker, director of clinical virology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., told The Associated Press. “But it seems that, especially in India, transmission rates are showing such an exponential increase.” Several mutations separate BA.2.75 from its COVID-19 cousins. According to Binnicker, some of these could allow the virus to bind more effectively to cells and escape antibodies. First identified in May 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced it was tracking the subvariant earlier this month. “In Europe and the Americas, BA.4 and BA.5 are making waves,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a July 6 media briefing. “A new subtype BA.2.75 has also been identified in countries such as India, which we are following.” WHO currently lists BA.2.75 as a variant under “monitoring”. As of July 12, about 74 percent of sequenced cases in Canada were BA.5. “As with all new subtypes of COVID-19, scientists from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), along with national and international experts, are actively monitoring and evaluating these Omicron subtypes and their related studies. said the Health Canada spokesperson. “Compared to BA.2, preliminary international reports have shown that BA.5, BA.4 and possibly BA.2.75 have increased transmissibility and the ability to potentially partially evade immune protection by prior infection and/or vaccination if weakened by over time’, In Canada and many other countries, surveillance of COVID-19 has decreased significantly in recent months, meaning that the actual numbers of cases are likely much higher than the official figures. While vaccines and boosters may not prevent infection with COVID-19, Canadian officials say they are still a strong defense against the serious illness. “Evidence shows that vaccines used in Canada are very effective in preventing serious illness, hospitalization and death from COVID-19,” says a government website. “A booster dose after a primary series of mRNA vaccines provides better protection against Omicron infection and severe disease than the primary series alone.” With files from the Associated Press
