While many French people are ditching the mask on Monday, Omicron’s BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants are attracting the attention of health officials. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is urging European countries to keep an eye out for these new forms of Omicron.
If the May 14 press release – and spotted by our colleagues at FranceInfo – acknowledges that their share in the European Union is “currently low”, it warns: “They will become dominant in the coming months”. On France 24, the epidemiologist Antoine Flahault had estimated that these subvariants were “more transmissible than the previous ones”.
Can “escape the immune system”
The data situation for BA.4 and BA.5 is currently incomplete, especially with regard to the question of the danger. These subvariants, first spotted in South Africa earlier this year, have since become “dominant” in the country, points out ECDC, which says BA.5 is also becoming dominant in Portugal.
The EU agency “encourages countries to remain vigilant”. Because even if these subvariants turn out to be similar in severity to their cousins, their high transmissibility could again create major tensions in hospitals. Especially since BA.4 and BA.5 have the “ability to evade the immune protection induced by a previous infection and/or vaccination, especially if this has waned over time”. What is dampening the joy of those who welcome the lifting of health restrictions after two years of pandemic that have permanently disrupted the mental health of the French?