The World Health Organization is watching COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron BA.2 Subvariant with a close eye, but one Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at MUN says the subvariant is not as new as it may seem.

Dr. Rodney Russell, a Professor of Virology and Immunology at Memorial University, says when Omicron was first discovered in late 2021, it was already known that three or four subvariants were in circulation.

Data shows that BA.2 does spread slightly faster than BA.1 or the Omicron variant, according to Dr. Russell.

He says it may cause cases to pop up faster than BA.1, but so far there are no indications that it makes you more sick, or increases chances of going to the hospital.

Russell doesn’t expect another major wave of cases, but says models show there could be a “bump” or “extension” of the current peak.

However, he says the good thing is that vaccines are working against all COVID-19 variants.

He says even if there is another variant or spike in cases, they’re not seeing an overload in hospitals as vaccines are making an impact.