The emerging BA.2 form of the Omicron coronavirus variant does not seem to be any more severe than the original BA.1 form, an official of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
Vaccines also continue to provide similar protection against the different forms of Omicron, Dr. Boris Pavlin of the WHO's COVID-19 Response Team told an online briefing.
The comments come as the BA.2 subvariant begins to replace Omicron's more common "original" BA.1 subvariant in countries such as Denmark.
Based on data from Denmark, the first country where BA.2 overtook BA.1, there appears to be no difference in disease severity, although BA.2 has the potential to replace BA.1 globally, Pavlin added.
"Looking at other countries where BA.2 is now overtaking, we're not seeing any higher bumps in hospitalization than expected," he said.
BA.2 is more transmissible than the more common BA.1 and more able to infect vaccinated people, according to a Danish study which analysed coronavirus infections in more than 8,500 Danish households between December and January.
The subvariant is already becoming dominant in the Philippines, Nepal, Qatar, India and Denmark, Pavlin said.
He added: "Vaccination is profoundly protective against severe disease, including for Omicron. BA.2 is rapidly replacing BA.1. Its impact is unlikely to be substantial, although more data are needed."
(Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru and Jennifer Rigby in London; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
FedEx suspends domestic express freight services on Omicron hit
FedEx Corp on Tuesday suspended its domestic express freight services due to a staff shortage as cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus rose.
The delivery firm said it is suspending the economy domestic FedEx express freight, including FedEx two-day freight and FedEx three-day freight services.
International economy freight pick-up services, which had been paused earlier, resumed on Monday, FedEx added.
Last month, the company had warned that rising cases of the Omicron variant had caused a staff shortage and delay in shipments transported on aircraft.
Severe winter storms around the country and staff shortages had forced several U.S. airlines to cancel flights last month.
U.S. coronavirus deaths rose by at least 2,266 on Monday to a total of 890,049 compared to 887,783 previous day, according to a Reuters tally.
(This story corrects typographical error in first paragraph)
(Reporting by Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)
The emerging BA.2 form of the Omicron coronavirus variant does not seem to be any more severe than the original BA.1 form, an official of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
Vaccines also continue to provide similar protection against the different forms of Omicron, Dr. Boris Pavlin of the WHO's COVID-19 Response Team told an online briefing.
The comments come as the BA.2 subvariant begins to replace Omicron's more common "original" BA.1 subvariant in countries such as Denmark.
Based on data from Denmark, the first country where BA.2 overtook BA.1, there appears to be no difference in disease severity, although BA.2 has the potential to replace BA.1 globally, Pavlin added.
"Looking at other countries where BA.2 is now overtaking, we're not seeing any higher bumps in hospitalization than expected," he said.
BA.2 is more transmissible than the more common BA.1 and more able to infect vaccinated people, according to a Danish study which analysed coronavirus infections in more than 8,500 Danish households between December and January.
The subvariant is already becoming dominant in the Philippines, Nepal, Qatar, India and Denmark, Pavlin said.
He added: "Vaccination is profoundly protective against severe disease, including for Omicron.
BA.2 is rapidly replacing BA.1. Its impact is unlikely to be substantial, although more data are needed."
(Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru and Jennifer Rigby in London; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
FedEx suspends domestic express freight services on Omicron hit
FedEx Corp on Tuesday suspended its domestic express freight services due to a staff shortage as cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus rose.
The delivery firm said it is suspending the economy domestic FedEx express freight, including FedEx two-day freight and FedEx three-day freight services.
International economy freight pick-up services, which had been paused earlier, resumed on Monday, FedEx added.
Last month, the company had warned that rising cases of the Omicron variant had caused a staff shortage and delay in shipments transported on aircraft.
Severe winter storms around the country and staff shortages had forced several U.S. airlines to cancel flights last month.
U.S. coronavirus deaths rose by at least 2,266 on Monday to a total of 890,049 compared to 887,783 previous day, according to a Reuters tally.
(This story corrects typographical error in first paragraph)
(Reporting by Kannaki Deka in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)