Shanghai, China, to Northeast USA and Puerto Rico: New impacts of Omicron BA.2

The most recent WHO update on COVID-19 reported that over 85% of SARS-CoV-2 isolates reported worldwide are the most contagious version of SARS-CoV-2 known as Omicron BA.2. In addition, WHO named three SARS-CoV-2 recombinant viruses, XD, XE and XF:

Two Delta and Omicron recombinants and one BA.1 x BA.2 recombinant have now been given Pango lineage designations XD, XE and XF. None of the preliminary available evidence indicates that these recombinant variants are associated with higher transmissibility or more severe outcomes.

On Monday, March 28, in Shanghai’s well-known Pudong area, where 5.7 million people live, a sudden 4-day campaign of mass testing and lockdown restrictions began, according to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. Upon officially being completed at the end of this week, a similar 3-day mass testing campaign will then begin in the Puxi region of Shanghai across the Huangpu River from Pudong.  

This writer will be quite surprised if these two mass-testing campaigns do not reveal community transmission of the virus, with even more asymptomatic infected persons than symptomatic persons, and thus an official decision to extend mass testing in these and other parts of Shanghai, the financial capital of China. Meanwhile Omicron continues to spread in other cities in China and especially in the northeast province of Jilin. Whether North Korea can continue to avoid the Omicron virus crossing their border from northeast China remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, on March 25, in eight states in the U.S. Northeast as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, the predominance (>50%) of Omicron BA.2 has resulted in the U.S. government no longer making available the monoclonal antibody sotrovimab because it is not effective against Omicron BA.2 (despite being effective against Omicron BA.1):

ASPR will immediately pause distribution of sotrovimab to all states in Region 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont) and Region 2 (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands).

The newer monoclonal bebtelovimab is still available because it is effective against both Omicron BA.1 and the more mutated and contagious Omicron BA.2.

The pandemic persists in 2022.