Preliminary studies have suggested that the BA.2 subvariant could be more infectious than the original variant. Because it is believed to escape vaccine-induced immunity and immunity from a previous COVID-19 infection, breakthrough infections and cases of reinfection are also said to have increased in the recent past.

A Danish study consisting of 8,500 households and 18,000 individuals found that BA.2 was “substantially” more transmissible than BA.1. It was also found that the new sub lineage was more capable of evading vaccine immunity.

However, in a recent update, the World Health Organization (WHO) cleared the air and said that the Omicron subvariant is not more virulent or severe than the original variant.

“We don’t see any difference in terms of severity between BA.2 compared to BA.1. … That’s important,” Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist of WHO’s COVID-19 response team, wrote on social media. However, she added, “Omicron is not ‘mild.’ It is less severe than Delta.”