New subvariant of omicron detected in Pa.

Mar. 22—Doctors at Evangelical Community Hospital and elsewhere are keeping a wary eye out for BA.2, a subvariant omicron that has been detected in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 20.3 percent of reported COVID-19 cases in those states and D.C. are BA.2. The rest are the regular omicron variant.

"As with previous variants, it is a 'wait and see' approach as to whether our community will be impacted by the latest strain of COVID-19," said Kendra Aucker, president and CEO of Evangelical Hospital.

"We remain optimistic that the decline in numbers will continue, but as we've seen in the past, we must remain flexible and prepared in the event the numbers begin to increase once again," Aucker said. "These numbers bring hope and relief from the surge of cases that strained hospital resources at the end of 2021."

The Evangelical staff continues to support all mitigation efforts in place to keep COVID-19 and its many variants at bay, Aucker said. Efforts include staying home while sick to limit the amount of exposure others have to illness, washing hands frequently and practicing social distancing, Aucker said.

"As a hospital, we continue to support the Pennsylvania Department of Health recommendation of receiving the COVID-19 vaccine and getting boosted if you've already been vaccinated," she said.

The BA.2 subvariant of omicron now accounts for about 30 percent of infections in the U.S, where indoor-mask and vaccine requirements have largely been rolled back.

U.S. cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to decline. BA.2 is about 50 percent more transmissible than the original strain of omicron, but it doesn't cause more severe illness or evade immunity from vaccinations or an earlier infection, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government's top infectious diseases expert.

A likely rise in U.S. COVID-19 cases probably won't amount to a full-scale surge or prompt a renewal of widespread restrictions, one of President Joe Biden's top advisers said.

"The bottom line is we likely will see an uptick in cases, as we've seen in the European countries, particularly the U.K.," Fauci said on Sunday. "Hopefully we won't see a surge. I don't think we will."

The Tribune News Service contributed to this report.