New Subvariants of Omicron Found in China Result in Roughly Same Symptoms as Other Subvariants: CDC Expert

By Global Times

Jul 19, 2022 10:59 AM

Residents receive nucleic acid tests on July 14 in Lanzhou, Northwest China’s Gansu Province. Photo: VCG

New subvariants of Omicron, such as BA.4 and BA.5, recently found in China result in roughly the same symptoms as other subvariants, said a virologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), noting that China's current antivirus measures are effective in fending off those subvariants.

Compared with previous subvariants, BA.4 and BA.5 are more transmissible, said Dong Xiaoping, the chief expert of virology at CDC, noting that yet these new variants haven't caused more severe or milder symptoms.

The new variants were discovered in the Chinese mainland in recent months. Since July 6, the first local case with BA.5 variant in the city of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China has reported 10 subvariants of Omicron in the past two weeks.

Dong said that those new variants' ability of evading the immune system is enhanced, yet the current vaccines are still eligible in preventing deaths and severe situation.

Dong also noted that China's current antivirus measures are effective in fending off those new variants, and the newest handbook of handling COVID-19 has focused on detecting mass public, which helps to find out virus carriers quickly and staunch the infection from spilling over.

Global Times