Highly Contagious BA.2 , Omicron Strain Spreading <br />in the United States.<br />NPR reports as the surge of the Omicron variant subsides, infectious disease experts say they've kept a close watch on a more contagious version of the strain.<br />Known as BA.2, a variant of Omicron, <br />it is said to be at least 30% more contagious <br />than its previous iteration.<br />As the variated version of Omicron <br />quickly became the prominent version of COVID-19 in Denmark and South Africa, .<br />health officials say they have prepared for the same occurrence in the United States.<br />A lot of us were assuming that <br />it was going to quickly take off in the United States just like it was doing in Europe and become <br />the new dominant variant. , Nathan Grubaugh, associate professor of epidemiology <br />Yale School of Public Health, via NPR.<br />Thus far, BA.2 has not overtaken <br />the original Omicron variant <br />in the United States.<br />Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, BA.2 is responsible for <br />3.9% of the country's new infections.<br />Officials say the variated virus <br />could be poised to explode in <br />the not-so-distant future.<br />If it doubles again to 8%, <br />that means we're into <br />the exponential growth phase and we may be staring at another wave of COVID-19 coming in the U.S. , Samual Scarpino, director of pathogen surveillance <br />Rockefeller Foundation, via NPR.<br />Experts say they expect the emergence of BA.2 to extend the wave of Omicron, .<br />but they haven't ruled out the possibility of another surge in the COVID-19 pandemic
