Mary Wilson
Well-known member
published 1 day ago
By Manal Mohammed
Since the COVID variant omicron emerged in late 2021, it has rapidly evolved into multiple subvariants(opens in new tab). One subvariant, BF.7, has recently been identified as the main variant spreading in Beijing(opens in new tab), and is contributing to a wider surge of COVID infections in China.
But what is this new variant, and should we be worried? Although reports from China(opens in new tab) about this variant's characteristics are concerning, it doesn't appear to be growing too much elsewhere in the world. Here's what we know.
BF.7, short for BA.5.2.1.7, is a sub-lineage of the omicron variant BA.5.
Reports from China indicate BF.7 has the strongest infection ability(opens in new tab) out of the omicron subvariants in the country, being quicker to transmit than other variants, having a shorter incubation period, and with greater capacity to infect people who have had a previous COVID infection, or been vaccinated, or both.
To put this into context, BF.7 is believed to have an R0, or basic reproduction number, of 10 to 18.6(opens in new tab). This means an infected person will transmit the virus to an average of 10 to 18.6 other people. Research has shown omicron has an average R0 of 5.08(opens in new tab).
The high transmission rate of BF.7, taken with the risk of hidden spread due to the many asymptomatic carriers(opens in new tab), is understood to be causing significant difficulty in controlling the epidemic in China.
... BF.7 carries a specific mutation, R346T(opens in new tab), in the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 (a protein on the surface of the virus that allows it to attach to and infect our cells). This mutation, which we also see in BF.7's "parent" variant BA.5(opens in new tab), has been linked with enhancing the capacity of the virus to escape neutralising antibodies generated by vaccines or previous infection.
... We don't know exactly why the situation looks different in China. BF.7's high R0 might be due in part to a low level of immunity(opens in new tab) in the Chinese population from previous infection, and possibly vaccination too. We should, of course, be cautious about the data from China as it's based on reports, not peer-reviewed evidence yet.
https://www.livescience.com/covid-what-we-know-about-new-omicron-variant-bf-7
By Manal Mohammed
Since the COVID variant omicron emerged in late 2021, it has rapidly evolved into multiple subvariants(opens in new tab). One subvariant, BF.7, has recently been identified as the main variant spreading in Beijing(opens in new tab), and is contributing to a wider surge of COVID infections in China.
But what is this new variant, and should we be worried? Although reports from China(opens in new tab) about this variant's characteristics are concerning, it doesn't appear to be growing too much elsewhere in the world. Here's what we know.
BF.7, short for BA.5.2.1.7, is a sub-lineage of the omicron variant BA.5.
Reports from China indicate BF.7 has the strongest infection ability(opens in new tab) out of the omicron subvariants in the country, being quicker to transmit than other variants, having a shorter incubation period, and with greater capacity to infect people who have had a previous COVID infection, or been vaccinated, or both.
To put this into context, BF.7 is believed to have an R0, or basic reproduction number, of 10 to 18.6(opens in new tab). This means an infected person will transmit the virus to an average of 10 to 18.6 other people. Research has shown omicron has an average R0 of 5.08(opens in new tab).
The high transmission rate of BF.7, taken with the risk of hidden spread due to the many asymptomatic carriers(opens in new tab), is understood to be causing significant difficulty in controlling the epidemic in China.
... BF.7 carries a specific mutation, R346T(opens in new tab), in the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 (a protein on the surface of the virus that allows it to attach to and infect our cells). This mutation, which we also see in BF.7's "parent" variant BA.5(opens in new tab), has been linked with enhancing the capacity of the virus to escape neutralising antibodies generated by vaccines or previous infection.
... We don't know exactly why the situation looks different in China. BF.7's high R0 might be due in part to a low level of immunity(opens in new tab) in the Chinese population from previous infection, and possibly vaccination too. We should, of course, be cautious about the data from China as it's based on reports, not peer-reviewed evidence yet.
https://www.livescience.com/covid-what-we-know-about-new-omicron-variant-bf-7
