Here are the morning headlines for Thursday, January 20, as medical experts track a second type of Omicron that may be spreading faster.
Dr Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London, says that there is evidence that the new type of Omicron, known to scientists as BA.2, is growing compared to Omicron (known at BA.1) in the UK, Denmark and Germany.
He said the growth across multiple countries may mean it is more transmissable than Omicron,
He said: “Consistant growth across multiple countries is evidence BA.2 may be some degree more transmissible than BA.1.
“Unfortunately this is really where the evidence mostly ends. We do not currently have a strong handle on antigenicity, severity or a much evidence for how much more transmissibility BA.2 might have over BA.1 .”
The scientist did say that very early observations from India and Denmark suggest there is no “dramatic difference” in severity compared to Omicron, but the data is being closely monitored.
Writing on Twitter, he said: “So how worried should we be? Those working in sequencing/surveillance should definitely be…
