COVID-19
BA 2.12.1 variant COVID-19: What You Need to Know
Read Time
2 Minutes
Written by
Team Curative
Published
Jun 14, 2022
Do you have questions about Omicron variant BA.2.12.1? Here’s what we know about this variant, and how we’re using the data to help inform public health decisions.
How has Curative been monitoring BA 2.12.1?
Curative has been monitoring SARS-Cov2 variants by next generation sequencing* (NGS) since May 2021. Any variants, including BA.2.12.1, can be identified by the NGS technology.
What percentage of samples sequenced have been identified as BA 2.12.1?
The BA.2.12.1 variant was first detected in samples collected in early April 2022. The variant started at ~1% of samples sequenced. After one month, BA.2.12.1 increased to 29% of samples sequenced at Curative. According to the CDC**, BA.2.12.1 was responsible for ~57.9% of new cases by the week of May 15th, 2022.
How will Curative help disseminate this information to inform public health decisions?
We’ve submitted the sequence information to GISAID, which provides open access to genomic data of the SARS-Cov2. The information has also been reported to public health agencies with whom we have contracts.
Is BA 2.12.1 more infectious?
According to the CDC***, “some early evidence suggests BA.2.12.1 is increasing in variant proportion faster than other Omicron sublineages.”
BA 2.12.1 **Public Health Authorities are legally authorized to receive reports of variant sequencing data under 45 CFR 164.512(b)(1)(i) **https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#variant-proportions ***https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covidview/past-reports/04222022.html
