With BA.4 and BA.5 detected in Manitoba, epidemiologist expects transmission to increase
Global News
"(BA.5) has a whole bunch of tricks up its sleeve to disguise and to evade immunity, either that is created or acquired by vaccines or by having the infection."
The Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants are spreading rapidly around the world, and the province is confirming they’ve both been detected in Manitoba.
Provincial data suggests COVID-19 transmission is trending downward, but University of Saskatchewan epidemiologist Dr. Nazeem Muhajarine said that will likely change before September.
The province says both strains have surfaced in Winnipeg wastewater, with BA.5 making up about 10 per cent of sequenced samples.
“The province is targeting to sample at least 10 per cent or at least — 100 samples per week,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
These highly evolved variants of concern are about six to eight times more contagious than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, Muhajarine told Global News on Wednesday.
“It has a whole bunch of tricks up its sleeve to disguise and to evade immunity, either that is created or acquired by vaccines or by having the infection, having COVID-19,” Muhajarine said.
He cautioned that being vaccinated likely wouldn’t stop people from getting infected, but it’s still proving to prevent serious outcomes.
Those who were infected with Omicron BA.1, the strain that was circulating around Christmastime, likely won’t be protected against these newer strains, Muhajarine said.