Recently, the BA.4 and BA.5 subclades of Omicron have become the main epidemic strains in South Africa, Portugal and other countries. Beijing, Tianjin, Shaanxi and other places in my country have also successively reported imported cases from the BA.5 subclade caused by local epidemics. Dong Xiaoping, chief expert of virology at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an interview with reporters that the current data shows that the transmission power of BA.4 and BA.5 subclades has been significantly improved, but the pathogenicity is not significantly compared with other Omikron subclades. Changes, the ninth edition of the prevention and control plan still applies.
“The incubation period of the BA.4 and BA.5 subclades was significantly shortened, reflecting the spread of the virus in the absence or little intervention of public health measures. The basic infection number (R0) of the genus is very high, which brings great pressure to the world.” Dong Xiaoping introduced, but in general, compared with other omicron subclades, its pathogenicity has not significantly increased or weakened. It still poses a great threat to the elderly and people with underlying diseases.
July 8, Qujiang New District, Xi’an Residents of Zitingyuan Community undergo nucleic acid testing. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Bowen
Dong Xiaoping said that the ninth edition of the prevention and control plan has raised the monitoring of the virus to a higher position, reflecting stratification A graded nucleic acid screening plan, encrypting the frequency of nucleic acid testing for high-risk occupational groups, and increasing antigen testing as a supplementary means of epidemic monitoring. “These measures in the ninth edition of the prevention and control plan are effective for both BA.4 and BA.5 subclades.”
Existing new crowns Are viral vaccines still effective for BA.4 and BA.5 subclades? Dong Xiaoping said that the immune escape ability of BA.4 and BA.5 subclades has been enhanced, but vaccination is still effective in preventing severe illness and death, and the effect of preventing infection needs to be observed with larger data. He called on people who meet the requirements for vaccination to complete the whole process of vaccination and booster immunization of the new crown virus as soon as possible.
Will people who have previously been infected with the new coronavirus become reinfected with the Omicron variant? Dong Xiaoping said that there is still the possibility of being infected by the Omicron variant, but it will not be more susceptible or have more serious clinical outcomes than other populations.
“For BA.4 and BA.5 subclades, we can’t take it lightly, but don’t panic.” Dong Xiaoping said. (Reporters Xu Penghang and Dong Ruifeng)