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About COVID-Omicron BF.7 Variant : Symptoms, Spread, Treatments, Vaccines, Testing, and Other details given below : World Health Organization (WHO) designated the variant of B.1.1.529 a variant named Omicron, BA.4 and BA.5 lineages which are the “sister variants” of the BA.1 Omicron variant. The UN health body has been tracking the BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron variants including the BA.1.1 and BA.3. WHO said the “BA.2 now represents nearly 94 per cent of all sequenced cases”.
New variant, and should we be worried? Although reports from China 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 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.
BF.7 Mutations
As omicron has evolved, we’ve seen the emergence of new subvariants better able to escape immunity from vaccination or prior infection. BF.7 is no different.
BF.7 carries a specific mutation, R346T, 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, has been linked with enhancing the capacity of the virus to escape neutralising antibodies generated by vaccines or previous infection.
A recent study examined the neutralisation of BF.7 in sera (a component of blood that should contain antibodies) from triple-vaccinated healthcare workers, as well as patients infected during the omicron BA.1 and BA.5 waves of the pandemic. BF.7 was resistant to neutralisation, driven partly by the R346T mutation
Omicron BF.7 Symptoms
These include a runny nose, a sore throat and sneezing, as opposed to the original coronavirus strain which primarily caused a fever, a new and persistent cough, and a loss or change to sense of smell or taste.
- Cold
- Fever
- Shortness of breath
- Feeling tired or exhausted
- A headache
- Sore throat
- A blocked or runny nose
- Loss of taste & Smell
- Feeling sick or being sick
- vomiting and diarrhoea
Omicron BF.7 Variant Tests
The widely used PCR tests continue to detect infection, including infection with Omicron, as we have seen with other variants as well. Studies are ongoing to determine whether there is any impact on other types of tests, including rapid antigen detection tests.
Omicron BF.7 Variant Treatments
Corticosteroids and IL6 Receptor Blockers will still be effective for managing patients with severe COVID-19. Other treatments will be assessed to see if they are still as effective given the changes to parts of the virus in the Omicron variant.
Vaccination is expected to provide important protection against severe disease and death caused by Omicron, as it does with the other variants still in circulation. Up to this point, the comparatively lower rate of hospitalizations and deaths from Omicron is in large part thanks to so many people in our Region already being vaccinated. Vaccination prompts the body’s immune response to the virus, which not only protects us from the variants currently in circulation including Omicron but is also likely to give protection from severe disease due to future mutations of Coronavirus.
Vaccines
Vaccination remains effective at preventing severe diseases, and individuals are strongly encouraged to be vaccinated and receive appropriate booster doses according to the latest COVID-19 vaccination recommendations.
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