According to the Daily Mail, a new covid variant has health officials calling for people to start wearing masks again. The news outlet spoke with a health expert and we’re told that the new variant, BA. 6 is “probably” already in the United States.
The new variant has only been detected in Israel and Denmark but health officials predict that the variant will make its way in America “very soon.” Dr Thomas Moore, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Kansas, spoke with DailyMail.com and said, “I’m sure it is already here. If it hasn’t already made it here, it probably will very soon.”
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Dr Paul Hunter, an infectious diseases expert at the University of East Anglia in the UK, also commented on the new variant and said, “If it is an infection that is going to outcompete others, then it probably is in the US — and if it isn’t now, then it probably very soon will be.” Dr Raj Rajnarayanan, from the New York Institute of Technology, added: “It hasn’t been identified yet, but if it’s not here now, it will be here soon!” All of the experts that the news outlet spoke with reportedly agreed that the new variant was unlikely to completely undo years of coronavirus immunity built up during the pandemic. They said it would take several weeks and at least 50 confirmed cases before researchers can predict how infectious or deadly BA.6 is.
Andrew Pekosz, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health weighed in on the issue as well. “It’s a concern that it’s increasing, but it doesn’t look like something that’s vastly different from what’s already been circulating in the U.S. for the past three to four months, so I think that’s what tempers my concern about this variant, at this point in time.”
As we all know, the pandemic began in late 2019 in Wuhan, China, and has since spread globally, affecting virtually every aspect of life around the world. COVID-19 primarily spreads through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes, talks, or breathes. Common symptoms include fever, cough, and difficulty breathing, but the virus can also lead to more severe respiratory illnesses, especially in older adults and those with underlying health conditions.
In response to the pandemic, various measures have been taken worldwide to control the spread of the virus, including lockdowns, travel restrictions, mask mandates, social distancing guidelines, and vaccination campaigns. Multiple vaccines have been developed and authorized for emergency use to prevent severe illness and reduce transmission.