Headlines are appearing about a new version of the COVID-19 virus—a new type of the Omicron variant called a subvariant. The original Omicron variant is the one that that caused cases to spike in December and January. It’s too early to tell whether the new subvariant will produce another surge, but a Mount Sinai expert urges you to keep an eye on the situation and pay attention to public health advice.
Public health officials are closely monitoring this subvariant of the Omicron variant, which is called BA.2 and has been cited in reports of increasing infections in Europe. A subvariant means this virus has variations from the first Omicron variant that came through New York City, called BA.1.